Celebrate

celebrate, celebrate, dance to the music

It was a ceremony to end all ceremonies...

After two years and 8 million dollars, the Santa Claus Lane Bike Path is finally open...it was supposed to be finished last year around the holidays, but delays mainly with the safety barrier and cable rail put it off schedule...

This half-mile stretch used to be a wildlife corridor with dirt and ice plant...foxes and birds among others used it to get to the marsh...but now it's tons of concrete and rebar for the dogs, bikes and joggers...

Normally, I don't like development by the marsh, but when I saw the ladies jogging in sexy clothes and biking with bikinis on, I changed my tune somewhat...

here's some pics ...Greta showed up to rabble-rouse...there's news-guy John Palmintieri, Carp councilman Al Clark, and the blonde chick with the camera...I hope to see her jogging on the bike path soon!

John P, Al Clark, and Blondie

I like a chick with a camera!

and a guy with a SLOW sign for the bike riders...odd

The press release with my comments...ha ha

CARPINTERIA, CALIFORNIA, NOVEMBER 8, 2022 – Today, community leaders and elected officials celebrated the completion of the Santa Claus Lane Bikeway at a ceremony with bicyclists, pedestrians, and local business owners, jugglers and clowns. And by the way, the year is 2023!

The new 0.6 mile, Class I bikeway and multipurpose path connects Santa Claus Lane to Carpinteria Avenue and is located on the beachside of Highway 101 between the freeway and the railroad tracks. Pedestrians and bicyclists can now walk and ride between the City of Carpinteria and Santa Claus Lane, a popular beach and local business area in the County of Santa Barbara. This also marks an improvement in the California Coastal Trail. Construction has been ongoing since September 2022. This is not a coastal trail, it's another cement road near the marsh...the ocean is on the other side of the marsh

“Connecting communities is one of the best ways we can ensure we are building infrastructure mindfully,” said State Senator Monique Limón. “I am proud that the state has invested $7.54 million of SB1 funding to make this project a reality, but that was made possible by the local match from Measure A.” Monique, have you lost your mind??

“SBCAG voted to use $3.33 million in Measure A funds for the Santa Claus Lane Bikeway. This multipurpose path is a joint effort by the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, Caltrans, the County of Santa Barbara, and the City of Carpinteria. It has been wonderful to see everyone pull behind this project,” said SBCAG Chair Jenelle Osborne. Can we get rid of SBCAG??

“This bikeway will unite Carpinteria with Santa Claus Lane like never before. This project has been in the County’s long-term plans since 1977, and now it’s finally here. This bikeway will improve access to the beach and local businesses, and also provide a better regional connection for people who want to commute to work or recreate," said Board of Supervisors Chair and SBCAG Director Das Williams. Since 1977?? Only took them 46 years to build it! You're joshing Das...

“Caltrans is pleased to continue our close working relationship with SBCAG, the County, and the City of Carpinteria to oversee construction of this local improvement. A lot of hard work went into creating this connection between the freeway and the railroad tracks. This project is truly something to celebrate,” added California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 5 Director Scott Eades. Caltrans spent more time on the bikepath than on the highway!!

It's mostly white people who want these expensive bike paths everywhere...the whites...

it's the whites we need to watch!

Elusive Butterfly

Across my dreams, with nets of wonder

well, I'm glad they finally saw the folly of stringing metal nets across the beautiful back- country creeks...I've hiked up there behind Montecito thousands of times and never thought I'd see such an intrusion...it was a bad idea from the start, spurred on by a bunch of pompous do-gooder nanny non-profits without any plan to finance other than to lay their mistake on the taxpayers!

The nets were an emotional response to the rare Thomas fire/flood event in 2019...an afterthought. The nets were supposed to save lives, but ended up as little debris dams/obstructions that had a negative impact on wildlife...

the County of Santa Barbara did a good job of expanding the debris basins...a sound and logical decision...

and besides, it's not like people weren't warned...the County warned us, even the great ex-weatherman Alan Rose from KEYT warned us!

hey, why not erect some giant slingshots across the creeks, when the boulders tumble down in a storm, the slingshots just flick them back up into the hills!! watch out for the butterflies please...

San Ysidro Creek dam!!

The question ForestWatch and other organizations are raising is whether the ring nets have served their purpose. From what they can see, the debris net in upper San Ysidro Creek caught vegetation that trapped smaller rocks, not big boulders. “It’s a failure from that standpoint,” Pitterle said. “Normally, a project like this wouldn’t see the light of day. You don’t put barricades in creeks, especially in remote areas where you can’t control them.”

excellent story from the Independent: 

https://www.independent.com/2023/10/05/dam-formed-by-debris-net-on-san-ysidro-creek-above-montecito-to-be-cleared/

a letter from the Project for Resilient Communities was sent to local media:

Op-Ed: The Ring Nets in Montecito Canyons Are Coming Down by Pat McElroy, Brett Matthews, Joe Cole, Elisabeth Fowler, Damon Taugher, Alixe Mattingly, and Hillary Hauser with the Project for Resilient Communities

It is with great disappointment to inform you that when the five-year emergency permits expire, the Project for Resilient Communities will need to remove the six debris flow “Swiss nets” in the canyons above Montecito by December 1.

yah sure, blame the Swiss!

Without strong local government support and budget for the six nets that may have to be cleaned out, without a guarantee that FEMA would cover those future costs, our small nonprofit cannot carry the risk associated with running a portion of a flood control system.

can't burden the taxpayers with this nonsense

Our goal from the beginning of this public-private partnership was to create the most cutting-edge and innovative system possible to enhance our community’s resiliency, funded entirely by private contributions, and then to efficiently transfer these important community assets to local, state, and regional authorities as part of the County’s safety and public works system to help ensure the protection of our community. The extension of the permits and the county accepting the debris flow protection system of six nets as part of the system was always paramount.  

cutting-edge! haha good one

The nets initiative could not have happened without a supportive and resilient community and brilliant people coming together. From conception to installation to a proven mitigation solution, the debris basin nets were a worthy initiative and the mission was accomplished.

"brilliant people" ah, no

To now remove the nets is a most difficult decision, reached only after many months of good faith effort and discussion, but we have been unable to reach an agreement with the County, and we cannot continue to rely on private donations from the community to sustain this work.

Thank You Santa Barbara County for a job well done!!

Hummingbird

don't fly away, fly away

most non-profits are scams, easy money, please send donations

but this is the dumbest thing I've ever heard...apparently some people at the AOS are offended by Anna's Hummingbird among others...they want names that are more "inclusive" and less harmful which is taking this pc notion to an absurd level...

Anna's Hummingbird was named for Princess Anna de Belle Massena. John James Audubon himself was charmed by her, but it was her pal, naturalist René Primevère Lesson who named the bird in her honor.

Starting in 2024, the non-profit American Ornithological Society will be looking into changing the names of up to 80 bird species in the United States and Canada "in an effort to address past wrongs."

I fear for the Cooper's Hawk, the Savannah Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow and all the rest...

I've never known anyone traumatized by watching a bird, they are spirit animals in many cultures, and definite connections to the past!

and Anna's Hummingbird will always be Anna to me...

Ring of Fire

I fell into a burning ring of fire

I went down, down, down

And the flames went higher

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire, the ring of fire

A solar eclipse casts no aspersions, but it does cast long shadows...

a double exposure to get a better view of the ring as the moon moves between the sun and earth...

in the ring of fire

Harvest

drink up drink up

let me fill your cup

It's October and that means Harvest season...the shadows of the moon...the air is full of fragrances-cinnamon, pumpkin spices, citrus-beautiful! Oh, and the Avocado Fest in Carp this week-end!

There's lobster traps soaking offshore, trucks carrying red and green bell peppers up the highway...and the pumpkin trucks are rolling...the Great Pumpkin!

It all sets me to thinking about a nice Halloween feast with a main course of lobster of course, smothered in clarified butter, avocados-sliced with peppers, some salt and pepper and olive oil...pitchers of lemonade and as an aperitif, some Japanese sake...

add some grilled garlic bread, sopping with butter and chopped garlic..

for dessert, we have pumpkin pie and blueberry pie and super tasty homemade vanilla ice cream on top...mmmmm

afterwards, as the sun is going down, and the warm Santana winds are drifting, we will partake in coffee, Cuban cigars, and the finest liquors- Brandy de Jerez, Calvados and Pisco...

we will let this beautiful season wash all over us!

Get Off of My Cloud

I said, "Hey, hey, you, you, get off of my cloud

Hey, hey, you, you, get off of my cloud

Hey, hey, you, you, get off of my cloud

Don't hang around 'cause two's a crowd

On my cloud baby"

Do you see Trump's face?
then you are a very sick person

hey whatever happened to Wendy McCuckoo, I wonder? I miss the News-Press but does the News-Press miss me?

EDHAT is looking weird sometimes with GIANT PICTURES and what not...a format makeover is in the works they say but I hope no more GIANT PICTURES!!

so summer is gone, the Summer of Barbie and now fall is upon us..I like these dark mornings, these quiet hours that bring me peace, if only for a little while

 how can the Republicans get dumber each day with so many educational opportunities in America...it seems they're just not curious enough to learn and would  rather have Trump think for them!

so the next bogeyman for the MAGA morons is Bill Gates...Bill made everyone's life easier and more efficient with Microsoft and he also made a fortune.  He's been buying farmland and QAnon MAGA thinks he wants to control the food supply...hehehe..implausible

Someone ditched a Ducati motorcycle on the side of the road and the cops were checking it last week...this one looks like a 1970s Scrambler 800 series...equally capable on or off road...why would anyone abandon it unless it was stolen? it's a mystery...why not take it to the hills and hide it til the heat dies down? it doesn't look damaged...something ain't clicking

if I had a choice between a Triumph Bonneville or a Ducati Scrambler, I'd go with the Ducati

these are beautiful bikes!

Highway To Hell

I'm on a Highway to Hell!! 

The cops are pulling people over left and right on the new highway 101..it's a speed trap number 1 and number 2 because the HOV lane demands two or more people in a car. It's like a police state now! However, if you drive a motorcycle, a Tesla (KABOOM!!) or some other stipulation, you can use the HOV anytime...the whole thing is too stupid because the Diamond Lane is a failed concept from the 1970s-they want less cars on the highway to save the air-but there's always rush hour and traffic jams in the morning. 

There's still  only two lanes from Montecito to SB until they complete that project..it creates a bottleneck back-up in Carp and an HOV lane won't solve a thing...

and what about falcons? what about smog checks? If I pass, I should be able to use the exalted lanes, should I not? and those are my taxes in all those tons of cement there!!

I travel down life's highway alone sometimes, and it's discriminatory to keep me reaching my dreams..