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Weekly Column by Loretta Redd

Leave it to LA to try and outdo everyone in California.  This time, it’s not Rodeo Drive’s couturier and jewels, nor Hollywood’s glam and paparazzi taking the headlines.  It’s election spending.

By last Saturday, our neighbors to the south had set a less than enviable record of over $33 million on their race for a mayor.  We’re not talking the whole council…just the mayor.  Probably would have been cheaper to simply bride every registered voter with a check; especially since neither candidate seems to be very adept at garnering a lead in the polls.

Is Santa Barbara’s City Council so far behind?  Using rounded numbers of cash raised and expended in the last campaign for our tiny, tawny town, we have:

Randy Rowse  $83,000
Deborah Schwartz  $79,000 ($105,000 including in-kind)
Dale Francisco  $79,000
Cathy Murillo  $72,000  ($88,000 including in-kind)
Grant House (2009) $74,000
Bendy White (2009) $65,000 ($91,000 including in-kind)

“In-kind” expenditures include outside monies by groups whose gifts are known to the candidates.  Some of the auxiliary groups offer “independent expenditures.”  They may not have been in direct contact with the candidate or campaign director, but they still have to list the value of the gift and who receives them.

For example, if the Democratic Party produce a $3,000 mailer for three endorsed candidates, and informs them that they are doing so, the ‘gift’ is pro-rated, and both the candidate and campaign committee report a $1,000 contribution.  If the Democratic Party does not inform the candidate, but simply sends money or includes them on a slate mailer, it is considered an “independent expenditure” which the campaign committee must list, but the candidate isn’t required to do so.

The City of Santa Barbara has on-line campaign filing showing campaign expenditure and monies raised.  It isn’t easy to find the numbers; the City of Goleta actually does a better job, but with a little tenacity, the information is there.

Here’s a link to a filing from the Democratic Central Committee (see Schedule D) :

This year, our local City council election is projected to cost between $70-75,000 per candidate.  I think that is an absurd amount of money for a council seat where the City Administrator, Attorney  and Chief of Police pretty much run the place.  Especially since Santa Barbara is a Charter City where members have limited terms, non-district elections and thankfully, limited compensation. Continue Reading →

Office Kasi Beutel at Coffee with a Cop

I attended the Coffee With A Cop last week at Good Cup on Wednesday afternoon.  I’m pleased first to report that I didn’t see a single donut amongst them. My two questions to Public Information Officer Riley Harwood, my beat coordinator and other local officers was this:

What can we do to assist you in your work?”

They seemed rather shocked by the question, but it led to some interesting exchanges.

They each referenced the heinous decade-long kidnapping in Cleveland, reminding us that there are two incredibly important steps to take as a resident:  first, get to know your neighbors.  Secondly, when something doesn’t seem ‘right’ take the time to call the authorities and report it.  Likely more times than not, it will turn out to be unfounded, but two things will result regardless: you’ll become more familiar with the police department, and they will be alerted to potential crimes or multiple calls for service in an area.

How many of us do know our neighbors?  In some cases, you may not want to…but you should at least know their names and maybe share a contact number.

Fortunately, Santa Barbara has a long tradition of friendliness and integration.  We haven’t replicated the obligatory prison-like gates, high walls and hedges of Montecito where status begins with insular exclusivity.  We don’t measure our importance by how difficult we are to speak to, or how little we participate in our community.

Block parties used to be a great way to get to know your neighbors.  But they now require a litany of permits, driven by America’s obsession to find employment for every attorney by regulating every aspect of life.  When my partner and I moved into a neighborhood, I placed a note in the mailbox of the surrounding neighbors (illegal, I know, but I waited until the mail had been delivered) introducing ourselves, and issuing an invitation to stop by for a visit.

As much as I believe in ‘foot patrols’ for beat cops, the economic reality is that they probably aren’t coming back.  That’s too bad, because when an officer gets out of a car, or off of a motorcycle or even bicycle, the world slows down and you begin to notice details and changes easily missed from a moving vehicle.  Plus, you can build relationship without buying coffee.

We have a multi-week program in town called the Citizens Police academy which I highly recommend.  It used to be English only, but with our changing demographics, they began including Spanish speaking classes as well.  Plus, when they moved the location from the Police headquarters to the Franklin Center, the enrollment shot through the roof.

Now the police are embarking on a cutting  edge adaptation, aimed at bringing our residents together regardless of cultural background.  They’re going to utilize ‘real time’ translation software, so that both English and Spanish speakers can be in the same class, sharing their thoughts and concerns about their neighborhoods and police response,  while they learn about all aspects of the different police divisions and departments.

Just last week, four drug dealers were apprehended on the basis of a citizen’s complaint…a drug house within 200 feet of an elementary school, no doubt.
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Weekly column by Loretta Redd

Assemblyman Das Williams may find himself if a squeeze as both a life-long friend to unions and a champion of improving education.

There is a cyber revolution coming to the classroom, though not everyone is joyful about the change. In the world of K-12, we have children who have grown up using a Smart phone as a pacifier, who look to computers for information like we looked to Big Bird on Sesame Street, and for whom the internet is a source of worldwide multicultural connection.

Public education, once the sacred ground of democrats, has been suffering greatly in the hands of political budget cutbacks, while teacher unions blame anything but themselves for some abysmally performing public schools.  While the revolution in online learning allows classrooms to customize coursework and frees instructors to spend time with individuals rather than teaching to the masses,  some union representatives perceive this potential as a threat .

The Wall Street Journal says that the wave of cyber education “…will bring about a massive and cost-saving substitution of technology for traditional labor.  That means fewer teachers per student…it’ll be far more difficult for unions to organize…and much more diversity in educational offerings where money and jobs will flow out of the regular schools and into new providers of online options.”

Much of education in the early school years is memorization of content.   Why not do all that we can to individualize that process while making it both interesting and entertaining?  Used wisely, technology can enhance the educational experience.  Socrates once declared that writing would be the downfall of education, insisting that memorization was the only valid form of learning.

If we’d stopped with the Socratic method, we wouldn’t even have wax tablets, much less Wikipedia at our fingertips.

With on-line instruction, children can advance at their own pace, repeating challenging concepts without delaying the whole class,  and homework either becomes irrelevant or an extension of online instruction where parents can assist.  Teacher of the Year, Dos Pueblos math instructor, Kelly Choi has “flipped ” standard instruction methods.  She has students watch online videos as homework, then in class, where they apply the video to the math assignments, she can work with them individually

From high school to college, the benefits and savings grow even greater.  While the socialization in K-12 remains an important a factor for development of such social skills like cooperation, sharing, fairness,  and working in groups, the campus based experience in college is less so.  Many urban universities have thousands of students; it is a rarity to have two classes with the same person.  Massive lecture halls are common and no one checks your homework, so self-motivation becomes a necessity of performance.

Santa Barbara City College, whose required lecture courses fill up in the first hours of open enrollment, create a bottleneck of opportunity, sometimes delaying graduation or transfer to a four-year institutions.  According to Assemblyman Williams, now Chair of the Higher Education Committee, less than 54 percent of California degree seekers complete their Bachelor’s in six years.

While enrollment in our State community colleges dropped to a 20-year low due to budget slashing of classes and professors, the University of California chapter of the American Federation of Teachers remains resistant to online education.   According to union president, Bob Samuels,  they prefer to “use our collective bargaining power to make sure that this move to distance education is done in a fair and just way for our members.”

Samuels fears losing “classes taught by lecturers.”  That’s almost funny, because most auditorium-sized lecture halls I’ve ever been in rarely have the brightest and the best of educators at the podium.  By lectures’ end, the majority look like giant bedrooms with students either on their phones, or covered in sleep-drool.

According to Inside Higher Education, Samuels wants a provision barring campuses from creating online courses that would result in “a change to a term or condition of employment ” of any lecturer without first dealing with the union.  “We feel that we could stop almost any online program through this contract.”

And he’s proud of that?

Continue Reading →

Column by Loretta Redd

“If you’re looking for the soul of a place, you might start at the local bookstore,” advises Travel & Leisure magazine.

And Santa Barbara is lucky indeed, to have three people passionate enough to pour time and treasure into what some believe is an inevitably dying cause, by soon opening a cultural institution and gathering place called Granada Books.

Clearly not immune to the whys and wherefores of construction delays, the principle owners, Emmett McDonough, Sharon Hoshida, along with manager Mark Zolezzi, gave a grand tour this week of the drywall and bare floor setting at 1224 State Street, inviting us all to use our imaginations to envision the bookstore-to-be.

And isn’t that what books are all about? Not just learning, but using our imagination, as the author paints both images and experiences with words instead of color.

There are plenty of books being produced these days to fill its future shelves. Granada Books will be the repertory of local authors and local interests, while aspiring to offer sufficient variety to ensure a steady stream of book buyers.

There were 10,800 independent book sellers in the US in 2002, and far less than that today…but we still more than in the 1930′s when there were only 4,000 places that sold books, while many of those carried only a few classics or reference volumes. Back in those days, books were owned mostly by the elite, while others depended on public lending libraries, if they were literate at all.

Although the mega chains, such as Crown, Waldenbooks and B. Dalton have pretty much evaporated from the planet, some city populations are reading more than ever before. With the average book purchaser being a married college graduate, age 45-64; cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego, rank among the top ten places with the highest sales and book retailers.

Hopefully, the addition of Granada Books to that of The Book Den, Tecalote, Read n Post and Chaucers will thrust our town into that tawny category of well-read places. The irony that the closure of the gargantuan Borders store has actually been good for book sales points out how niche markets can thrive in communities like Santa Barbara.

There is something so “small town” about our city…the way we generously embrace and support non-profits, the way we turn out to new events and show up for bright ideas, the way we speak our minds in print, online and in front of Councils. Residents seem protective and promoting of this place we call home, and push for what we want in services and opportunities.

Soon we will have this little literary hub near the Granada Theatre, nestled among shops, cafes and art galleries. A home-grown hybrid of retail and non-profit will no doubt find a successful foothold on our busy State Street. Maybe they’ll place a hammock in the front window where people can fall asleep reading, because it’s just not the same to drool on a Kindle.

Ms. Hoshida, prior director of the Women’s Center at UCSB, and Mr. McDonough, a retired corporate executive didn’t constrain the invitation for literary exploration at the interior space. They will also offer a rear outdoor patio with fire-pits and lighting, where small performances, gatherings, readings and discussions will supplement the printed pages inside.

Their search for the perfect store manager took them all the way to the deep south where they found Mark Zolezzi, the Granada Books’ affable and upbeat manager. Mark was born in New York, and has been in the book business a long time as a buyer for Miami’s Book Fair and manager of Mitchell Kaplan Books in Florida. To say that he and his family are thrilled to trade in the humidity and kite-sized mosquitoes of the east coast for a little slice of Santa Barbara heaven, is an understatement indeed.

So while the big box bookstores may have gone the way of the dinosaur, and e-books and Amazon have invaded the market, I would predict that Granada Books will thrive in a town where we support local merchants, where ‘culture’ involves interest, not just income, and where education and learning are still revered.

Proud to have you…and hope you get those bookshelves built soon!

Weekly Column by Loretta Redd

“Tis a tangled web we weave…” wrote Shakespeare, long before the age of digital electronics.  But open any ‘junk’ drawer in a kitchen or home office in America, and that’s what you will find.

Maybe not a “tangled web” of intrigue, but one of black, white and grey wires,  plugs, cables and chargers that come with every device we ever purchased, and few of which can be re-used with our newer version.  Although Earth Day was playfully celebrated over this past weekend in Santa Barbara, the city continues to honor the effort by hosting a free electronic collection and recycling event on Friday and Saturday, April 26 & 27th.

Held in the Sears parking lot at La Cumbre Plaza, from 8:30 till 4:00 each day, the city will collect computer monitors, keyboards, cables, CPUs, laptops, printers, fax machines, cell and landline phones, radios and televisions.  They will even destroy and recycle your hard drives.

Loose batteries, ex-husbands, toner cartridges, fluorescent light bulbs, unruly adolescents and large appliances like refrigerators will not be accepted.  Seriously, it’s a great way to do a little housekeeping, and since the time of purchase to obsolescence for most electronics is now about six months, I imagine we have more than a few outdated or non-functioning cords, computers or electronics lying around.

Toner cartridges have replaced typewriter ribbons and ball point pens, televisions used to be kept for decades, and computers were simply upgraded with additional RAM and program downloads.  Today, we drop into BestBuys or COSTCO or order online and toss the old one…where?

Facts and Figures on EWaste

The sheer volume of “e-waste” is impacting the landfills in many ways.  Although still only responsible for 2 percent  of America’s trash in our landfills, they account for 70 percent of the overall toxic waste. Around the globe, old computer monitors and televisions with their dangerous amounts of lead, continue to pile up into an environmental time bomb.

If we incinerate it, then toxins go into the air.  And if the precious metals contained in cell phones and other electronics, like gold and silver are not reclaimed, we’ve just dumped over $60 million dollars worth of reclaimable metals into the dumps.  Maybe the vagabon urchin brick-sitters on lower State Street can start a reclamation center and fund their way out of town with first-class tickets.

The environmental cost isn’t just in the graveyard side of the electronic lifecycle. According to businessinsider.com, It takes 539 pounds of fossil fuel, 48 pounds of chemicals and 1.5 tons of water to manufacture one computer and monitor.

The key is to recycle everything possible.  Old phones can be recycled for use by others, helping not only those who cannot afford them,  but the planet as well, especially considering over sixty per cent of the global population now has a cell phone.  And don’t forget the charger cords and any other parts that came with the phone. That is, if you can untangle and identify what went with the Nano or belonged to the Droid.

So, put that cell phone to use, and call your friends to tell them about the E-Waste collection event this weekend…and while you’re over at Sears, go around the corner to the La Cumbre Plaza and drop off any outdated or unused prescriptions between 10 and 2:00 on Saturday, April 27.

Whereas some of you might think of an “old pill” as someone you live with, prescription drugs are often the gateway for adolescent experimentation and dealing on school campuses.  If you aren’t taking the medication for a current condition, get it out of your house.

The sheriff’s department will be collecting these drugs  to keep them out of the landfill or from being flushed down the toilet…which might answer why our ocean creatures are behaving rather strangely recently.

Weekly Column by Loretta Redd

The NRA today announced that it was moving its headquarters to Pyongyang,  North Korea.  Tired of the fight in Washington, the lobbyists at the Institute for Legislative Action and the FriendsofNRA.org who “fundraise for the Future of Shooting Sports” have determined that Kim Jong Un in one leader who fully comprehends the importance of a well-armed society.

His beloved grandfather, Kim Jong Il, believed in “military first” and used his 17-year rule to spend generously on all sorts of weapons while ignoring the need for food and shelter for his own people.  Who cares if you’re starving in the dark, as long as you’re well protected by Dear Leader who has convinced you that the ‘imperialists’ are coming to take your guns and country at any moment.

According to news sources, “Guns and tanks are popular toys for children in the highly militarized society, and young North Koreans learn to fire guns when they are teenagers.  As young adults, they attend camps to learn military techniques.”

It’s an NRA dream come true!

No longer will the gun lobby have to waste money on NASCAR Sprint Cup sponsorships, where they give away two revolvers and a cowboy hat to the winners, and the fastest qualifier gets his very own shotgun.   No longer would they have to fund the Whittington Center, their non-profit shooting center, or the 10,000 annual shooting tournaments across the US.  No more “Friends of The NRA Dinner” events in Paso Robles as advertised on the Hoof ‘n Holler website, or fundraisers at the Santa Barbara Elks Lodge where the mostly ‘right to lifers’ celebrate the protection of the AR 15 with its 100 round clips.

Wayne LaPierre and board president, David Keene are salivating at the thought of exporting the mission of the NRA to a country where the military has 12,960,000 firearms, and the police have 245,000.  Talk about FREEDOM!

In truth, North Korea instituted internal gun control laws in 2009 as the senior Kim began to show signs of failing health.  For some silly reason the government thought the brain-washed masses might get a little prickly and want something more to eat than Kimchee and bullets.  In North Korea, guns are only allowed for “official duties,” while “institutions, groups, businesses,  and the public cannot lend, smuggle, produce or destroy weapons.”

North Korean civilians–a little stretched for cash–never had  that many weapons of their own.   In fact of 178 countries with privately owned guns, they rank 129th, with 0.6 guns per 100 people.  The United States, to no one’s surprise, ranks #1, with 88.8 guns per 100 people.

Makes you just puff up with pride, doesn’t it?

Founded in 1871, the NRA once had a reputation for safety and sport, but that was before it became more dedicated to the money of gun sales and the power of politics, and before our nation became an urban war zone.

Flush with income of over $220 million per year, this tax-exempt “social welfare organization” has 781 employees and 125,000 ‘volunteers.’   That’s a lot of volunteers, but if you’re pointing a gun at me, I might just be willing to volunteer as well.  The NRA boasts over four million members, but with North Korea’s 24 million people, just think of the expansion possibilities.

The NRA wasn’t always so politically radical.  An uprising began in 1977 at what is described as the Revolt of Cincinnati, when “a caucus of gun-right radicals took over the annual meeting,” changing the rules of the organization and instituting new leadership.  Seems these somewhat testy and more than slightly paranoid upstarts, led by Clifford Knox, were freaked out by the newly formed (1972) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms having the authority to enforce gun laws.

The NRA was just about to move their headquarters from the nation’s capital to Colorado, where they’d just completed a $30 million recreation facility. That would remove them from what old Clifford saw as the ‘seat of power’ and he wasn’t about to let those Feds dictate the rules of gun ownership.

We have Knox to thank for hiring Wayne LaPierre as a lobbyist in 1978 with two aims: demonize both the media and the ATF.  Not only did the organization stay in DC, it was instrumental in getting the Firearm Owners Protection Act passed in 1986, which significantly eased restrictions on sales and prohibited the government from having a database of gun ownership.

LaPierre began to sound less like the Boy Scout image of the old NRA and more like the arm-twisting Skinheads that score members of Congress like marksman, putting a very clear target on their backs if they dare to propose any form of restriction on any type of weapon.

Having lost even ex-President George H W Bush as a member because of its radicalism, the current NRA leadership would be right at home in North Korea.  La Pierre could help draft less restrictive laws on gun ownership for young Kim, and he might inspire a new industry of Korean arms, like bullet-firing chop sticks and contests where the army’s frisbee-like military caps are used as skeet instead of clay pigeons.

It’s not like the United States and North Korea have nothing in common.  On April 2, 2013 the United Nations passed the Arms Trade Treaty, which “set standards for the transfer of any conventional weapon-from pistols to warplanes- and required nations to review all cross-border arm controls to ensure munitions would not be used in human rights abuses, terrorism and violations of humanitarian laws.”

Only four countries refused to sign the treaty after seven years of United Nations negotiations:

The Islamic Republic of Iran, The Syrian Arab Republic, the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea, and our very own United States of America.  Yes, it was defeated by congressional Republicans at the behest of the NRA, who believed it was a secret plot to control access to arms.

It’s like British comedian Eddie Izzard said the other day, ” ‘Guns don’t kill people.  People kill people.’  But I think the gun helps.”

Weekly Column by Loretta Redd

There’s nothing like a $134 million facelift to make you feel better about yourself.  And that’s exactly what the Orient Express has done to improve its El Encanto property along Santa Barbara’s Riviera. 

The place has been hopping since its opening- or at least the bar and restaurant have been jammed.  Locals longing for the return of the enchanted, comfortable and classic feel of the hotel tucked on the hillside have been flocking over to catch the sun set view and check out the new interior.

 The main lobby building is tasteful but rather modern, it’s sparsely furnished in cool tones of beige and grey with dark walnut floors.  Gone is the overstuffed, if not somewhat faded, ‘frump’ of the old hotel style. 

Just like the old days, the bar and deck were crammed full by 5:30 which is either a testament to the sunset view or the number of failed AA-ers currently  living on the Riviera.  Unfortunately, that’s about where the  tribute to originality stopped for me. 

The cocktail waitresses were exuberant and friendly, though their average age was less than that of the shoes I was wearing.  Their uniforms reminded me of a flight attendant on Singapore Airlines, with a swatch of royal blue draped over one shoulder like a Miss America banner. 

Apparently, no one has told the corporate owners that the recession might still be in progress, when you consider a martini runs $19 (that includes a $3 ‘up’ charge.)  Most glasses of wine- few of which are from our region- will also devour your twenty dollar bill, so don’t look for Happy Hour bargains any time soon.

They have an interesting, if not bizarre, way to refill a wine glass.  If you order the same vintage, they fill  what they call a ‘carafe’ though it looks more like a rose bud vase, and pour it into your existing glass.  Let’s see, would I rather have clean carafe poured into a used wine glass, or a clean wine glass?  Remember, they’re going to have to wash the carafe anyway, so they aren’t saving on dishwashing.

Our dinner reservations were for 6:30. Bucking the current trend in Santa Barbara of seeing just how loud you can make a dining room,  I was relieved to see draperies used to absorb and soften the sound.  There’s an unavoidable light fixture that ‘drips’ from the ceiling with orbs of clear and gold bulbs on translucent strands.  Our waitress said it was to resemble ‘dew drops.’   I’ll let you decide when you see it, and forgive my Finishing School failings, but it looked more like swimming sperm to me. 

The tables along the window are triangular, taking full advantage of the famous Riviera view, but unfortunately, the sunset crept through an unshaded side window, temporarily blinding me each time I turned to speak to my dinner guest. 

 I had read about Chef Patrice Martineau who came to the El Encanto from the Peninsula hotel in Tokyo and Savoy in London, and I was excited to see his menu.  Admittedly, I am neither an international gastronomic gourmand, nor addicted to the food channel.  But I am somewhat well traveled;  I’ve managed a ‘white table cloth’ restaurant, and find no reason on earth to eat most fast food.

When I read a menu description, I hope to recognize a sufficient number of ingredients so that I can formulate some idea of what taste to expect in order  to pair my courses.  Feeling as though I had failed Culinary 101, I had no earthly idea what most of the supporting ingredients were, and asked the waitress to assist me.  She was well trained on the written descriptions, but admitted she’d never actually tasted any of the items on the menu.  

Rather than have her run back and forth to the Chef in the kitchen, we decided to simply be adventurous. Continue Reading →

Weekly Column by Loretta Redd

It has been estimated that between the counties of Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo there are more than 3500 non-profit agencies.  From the national behemoths like United Way, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Catholic Charities and the YMCA, to local leaders with sterling reputations such as Direct Relief International, to the more obscure Naljor Prison Dharma Service and Center for the Study of Social Structures; we are invited to participate in improving the lives of our Central Coast neighbors.

We hold our charitable institutions as sacred and dare any politician to discount or remove the tax deductible status that comes with the beloved IRS designation of 501-c-3.  That category covers a wide array of needs and philanthropic causes, including:  charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fosters amateur sports competition, prevents cruelty to children or animals.

Locally, we find everything from the fledgling start-up, raising dollar by dollar through cookie sales and backyard bar-b-ques, to one of our largest employers, Cottage/Goleta Valley Hospital Foundation–  with income, assets, property and revenues approaching a quarter of a billion dollars. (If I got these numbers wrong, it wasn’t for lack of trying to uncover all of its various foundation spreadsheets of holdings and reserves.)

Most charities have only a fraction of their annual budgets in reserve and would be thrilled to have an ‘black ink’ endowment higher than their ‘red ink’ operating budget.  A paltry four percent of charities with budgets over $5 million have operative reserves worth more than one year of expenses, according to the Urban Institute Study conducted in 2009. Cottage, and a few others in our area, are part of that fortunate club of ‘well-endowed’ charities.

As more groups of varying backgrounds and motivations find their way to the tax-deductible trough, we are cautioned to take the time to review their motives, their expenditures and balance sheets, and be wary of where our contributions are expended.  For instance, CNN recently uncovered an unscrupulous marketing group, Quadriga- a branch of Brickmill marketing- which has collected tens of millions of dollars purportedly for various veterans groups, but to which almost nothing went to ever in uniform.

Those of us tempted to give to the slick ads and heart-wrenching stories, or who received freebie giveaways of coffee mugs, reusable shopping bags or address labels might do best to review organizations like the Disabled Veterans National Foundation before sending them a check or credit card.  And unfortunately, we can’t always trust the internet ratings, as plenty of groups have positioned themselves at the top of a list or paid to be placed in their own self-created ranking of “top charities.”

Continue Reading →

Weekly column by Loretta Redd

As a disclaimer, I am registered as a “decline to state” voter, which allows me to freely vote for the candidate of my choice, rather than a political party’s slate.  I watch politics on both sides of the aisle, and from local, state and national levels;  and like many of you, am regularly horrified with the antics of our elected officials.

This past weekend, Sacramento was ground zero for what remains of the Grand Old Party of California.  Currently on its death bed, party loyalists found it necessary to bring in The Healer, Karl Rove, to provide reassurance and resuscitation to those assembled.  He, like other speakers, implored those gathered to reach out to “younger voters  and Latinos, who are the fastest growing segment of the electorate.”

Indeed, a national population survey recently affirmed that our Latino population has increased by 47 percent between 2000 and 2011, and they are in the majority once more in California.

While recognizing that the loss of the conservative vote in our State was not simply a tactical error, but in fact one of “strategy,” Mr. Rove remained as clueless in his recommendations  this past weekend, as he was blind to the inevitable victory of the democrats last November.  “We have great principles, but we sometimes talk about those principles in a way that makes it sound like it’s 1968, 1980 or 2000.”

Hey, Karl, if those principles you hold so dear haven’t been updated since the Viet Nam era, you might want to start there.  It isn’t “how” you talk about the principles, it is “what” the principles have become.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield  urged a restructuring of the voter turnout model to more align with the Democrats.  “The political operation that this president has–communicating, identifying and data mining– is far superior to anything the Republicans have,” he lamented to his colleagues last Saturday.

Hey, Kevin, it isn’t the mechanics of the machine that are broken, it’s what your party stands for…and right now, I would say it is as conservative a message as I’ve heard since the ‘other’ McCarthy held hearings.

I don’t particularly want to assist the conservatives, but I admit to believing there is a benefit to  having more than one perspective in government.  However, the Republican party will never have a presence in California as long as their leaders are more concerned with how they distribute what they stand for, rather than doing a little soul-searching about what they believe in, and why it isn’t selling.

When it comes to the Latino vote, there is a chasm that has less to do with outreach and far more to do with cultural underpinnings.  Years ago, a prolific cognitive linguist from “UC Bezerkley” by the name of Professor George Lakoff, realized that all politics were based on moral values, and that “facts only matter when they clearly fit one’s morally based frames.”

The moral system of the conservatives, according to Lakoff, was similar to that of a strict father.  He is there to protect by dictating, directing and disciplining those in his charge.  The conservative mindset is that the world is a dangerous place, that the populace is much like unruly, willful children and where wives and women are best protected when they are obedient.  Armed with both God and Guns, they consider themselves guardians of their world.

The moral system of liberals, Professor Lakoff states, is that of a nurturing parent, providing a social safety net, yet refusing to dictate behavior or control from a moral perspective beyond the Golden Rule.  This group will never march in lock-step; thus, its circus-sized political tent will include fringe elements of the progressive movement who push uncomfortably for inclusion.

There are major differences in the historical underpinnings of American and Latino culture.  In the U.S., our success as a nation is based on financial success.  We revere individual freedom, having never been defeated or controlled since our Independence from Britain,  We also have a rather neurotic concept of ‘time’ and our ability to control it.  Our lexicon includes buying time, killing time, being on time, running out of time, even borrowing time.  We have made it a commodity.

Individual freedom, time and its control, and financial success…combined, it’s the basis for American exceptionalism.

But  Latino, and especially Mexican, cultural beliefs are far, far different.  Value one is that of respect, rather than resources.  Number two is that of trust and family, rather than freedom.  And instead of trying to control time with precision and ownership, they relish free time with friends because human connection trumps all else.

So why do many risk the dangers of illegal border crossings where the conservative answer is higher walls, and more guards?  Yes, economy plays a role, but more that wanting to ‘get rich,’ they want to demonstrate their care of family through work, so they will be respected.  Remember, this is a group of people with a long history of enslavement and a massive loss of both property and population throughout the years.

So, if the conservatives ever hope to appeal to a large segment of our growing and increasingly blended Latino population, or the youth or the female vote, they might want to focus less on ‘control,’ and more on caring.  The ‘daddy politics’ of the last millennium aren’t going to sell, no matter what new strategy they come up with.

Weekly column by Loretta Redd

Oscar night is over, and ‘in the can’ as they say in movie-making land.  Gowns and tuxedos are either hung in closets, returned  to rental, or off to consignment shops while glittering diamonds  head home to the vaults at Harry Winston.  Depending on who you talk to, the evening was either a return to the sophisticated elegance and glamor of the past, or pandered to a younger generation captivated by potty-mouth bears and numb to once-horrifying blood and gore.

What is an industry to do when challenged to make sufficient profit from films to pay for their stars’ Beverly Hills lifestyle, the attorneys’ Bentleys, inflated insurance premiums, and the legions of other salaries and location costs?

The answer is an escalating ticket price, and like the gasoline it takes to get us to the theatre, it seems we are reluctantly willing to pay it.  The younger generation seems increasingly content to watch a movie on a screen smaller than their shoe, while becoming thoroughly bored if someone doesn’t crash in flames or bleed out within the first two minutes.

This Oscar season, it would appear the more senior viewers are turning to the ‘big screen’ for meaningful stories about interesting people.  Rather than Avatars and Action figures, complex and moving stories of politics, espionage, mental illness, survival and loss filled the screen. This year human heroes recaptured Hollywood, and inspired viewership with six of the nine best picture nominees earning more than $100 million in the U.S. alone.

With all of this success, and higher ticket prices, you might think that theatre owners are also making out like bandits.  But nothing could be further from the truth.

Back in the pre-depression days of Santa Barbara’s Flying Ace studios, the movie makers also owned the theatres. Once referred to as Nickelodeons after the price of entry,  theatre managers were referred to as exhibitors because most combined stage performance with the early silent films.

With the advent of the ‘talkies’ the movie industry soon exploded with the introduction of Technicolor and big screen epic films. Control of the industry had become a monopoly, with the major studios dictating where their films could be shown.

My grandfather, Robert Wilby, was one of the early giants in the theatre industry, as owner and manager of movie houses across the Southeast.  Wilby-Kinsey survived the depression years and impact of World War II, but the Justice Department ultimately led to his retirement.

In what was known as the Hollywood Antitrust case, the 1948 Supreme Court decision in United States v. Paramount, ruled that movie studios could no longer own theatres, nor hold exclusivity rights to the films that were shown.

The court determined that what had been a nice return on investment, had also muscled out the smaller studios and early ‘independent’ filmmakers.  Suddenly, theatre owners had to pay production studios for the ‘rental’ of the films, and fiercely compete with one another for first releases.

Making a profit in today’s world of piracy and downloads to computers is increasingly challenging.  With today’s escalating costs of movie production, the first couple of months of income from ticket sales head directly back to the studios. So where do the theatre owners look to secure a profit?

Popcorn.
Continue Reading →

Column by Loretta Redd

Standing in line at the airport, I awaited baggage check for an international flight.  I had already paid to have my one piece of luggage placed in the belly of the silver beast.  My trip was to last a couple of weeks and involved a variety of meetings, climates and events.  I didn’t have the option of strolling around a foreign country in a wind breaker, Capri shorts and lightweight walking shoes.

The gentleman in line ahead of me was, shall we say, large.  I don’t mean simply overweight, I mean ‘large’ as in 300 pound linebacker large.  He had a small roll-aboard, but there was no way I could squash what was necessary on my trip into a 36″ case, unless I planned a rendition of ‘Jack in the Box’ at customs.

When the agent at the counter asked me to lift my bag onto the scale, it registered fifty four pounds.

“You’re only allowed fifty pounds.  You’ll have to either remove four pounds or pay a fee for overage,” he said, in a tone that sounded vaguely as though I were trying to get away with espionage.   I asked him if he cared to guess my body weight in comparison to the human refrigerator that had just checked in.

“I’m not trying to be difficult,” I said, “but that gentleman outweighs me by at least 150 pounds, and he didn’t pay a penny more.  My bag is four pounds over, and you want to zap my credit card. Now, does that seem fair to you?” Continue Reading →