Roots on Santa Claus Lane

I am the CFO and co-owner of Autumn Brands, a sustainable and ethically grown cannabis farm in the Carpinteria Valley. We focus on growing high-quality cannabis that uses zero pesticides, which means not even organic pesticides. We re-use and recycle all our irrigation water and have all organic waste turned to compost. We are a women-owned and multi-family generation-owned business that cares deeply for this community and being responsible stewards of our precious and fragile environment.

We recently spoke in favor of the Roots Carpinteria project located at 3823 Santa Claus Lane when it was in front of the County Zoning Administrator on May 23. Here are a few of the reasons why we support this project.

Currently, the closest legal cannabis dispensaries serving customers and patients in Summerland, Montecito, and Carpinteria are in Santa Barbara. Our community needs a retail store that is more centrally located for our residents and for our visitors.

The unincorporated area of Carpinteria is home to many well-known and respected cannabis farms. But due to state regulations, our customers and those who use cannabis for their natural healing remedies can only purchase our coastal cannabis from a retail dispensary.

Maire and Pat Radis’s property on Santa Claus Lane is a perfect location for an environmentally-focused dispensary that can help showcase the amazing farms and ethically- and locally-sourced brands that the Carpinteria Valley offers. This special area we call the Carpinteria Valley is an ideal location and is close to mom-and-pop owned shops and restaurants that are visited regularly. Why not have a compliant, professionally operated and high-end cannabis retail store in this area of the county?

I have personally walked the building/property on Santa Claus Lane, and I couldn’t imagine a better or more suitable space for a high-end cannabis retail store that caters to a middle-higher-end consumer demographic. Moreover, I have experienced the trouble with parking along Santa Claus Lane, but I was shocked by how much parking this property provides in the front and also in the back. There are over 20 parking spaces on-site!

And with the improvements that will be coming to Santa Claus Lane in the next couple of years, this dispensary will only add to the beautification and be an important commercial and alternative healthcare resource for the Toro Canyon community, providing tremendous value to the residents and visitors of the Carpinteria Valley. Our adult community deserves access to legal, safe, regulated, and tested cannabis. This is what the majority of voters have consistently voted for.

Autumn Brands have personally worked with The Roots Dispensary in Lompoc for many years now. I hold a great amount of respect for them. They are professional, reliable, and community focused. And I have no doubt they will continue to be all these things when they partner with Pat and Maire Radis and open their doors on Santa Claus Lane.

Yours truly, 

Autumn Shelton
CFO/ Co-owner Autumn Brands

The Dyslexia Project

Thank you for running the editorial by Ruth Green about literacy, and how to achieve it through settled science, rather than a debunked theoretical approach to reading instruction. As a former school board trustee at the local and state levels, she certainly is an authority on the subject, and her insights should be heeded. 

I first came to the issue when my son was struggling to read. For years. We finally realized he is dyslexic and embarked on a very long journey to learn about the subject and address his issues. I became a dyslexia advocate when I realized that the approach to identifying and addressing this common learning difference — that affects 20 percent of the population — is quite hit-or-miss, and too frequently requires expensive and intensive interventions not found in our public schools. 

I became a literacy advocate when I realized that it’s not just the dyslexic students who struggle to read in our public schools; it’s 50 percent of students. At our local nonprofit, The Dyslexia Project, we work to provide awareness, support, and resources in a variety of ways to help parents understand the causes of reading struggles, and how to address them so that their children can get on their pathway to success. 

Ms. Green quite properly put the spotlight on the instructional approach where it should be. Research shows that half of children will learn to read with the popular balanced literacy approach, but nearly every child, even those with learning differences like dyslexia, will learn to read when science leads the way. It’s time we learn that lesson, so all our children have the opportunity to explore and reach their potential, 

Thanks again for addressing this important issue. 

Cheri Rae 
Director, The Dyslexia Project 
Author, DyslexiaLand: A Field Guide for Parents of Children with Dyslexia

Depp vs Heard

What a waste of time money and resources.

The bylines range from Depp wins to Depp vindicated to a split decision.

The TMZ crowd followed this fiasco for over six weeks.

I followed it for about an hour.

For those who don’t know or care, TMZ stands for thirty-mile zone.

That is the allowable range from Hollywood before it gets pricey to make a film or a television production.

Virginia is not in the TMZ area nor is England where Johnny Depp is playing a rock star.

I hear talking heads saying how awful this is for women.

That they will be less reluctant to come forward.

Nonsense.

If you put on a performance on the stand and perjure yourself on several occasions a reasonable jury of your peers will generally think of you as unreliable.

I believe some of accusations of abuse happened.

As I believe some of his accusations happened.

Unfortunately, when drugs are mixed with alcohol, a lot of it makes things so far from being rational that common sense and civility are lost in the shuffle.

Steve Marko 
Santa Barbara

Fundraising in Ojai for Frankie, The Miracle Dog of Montecito

Frankie was a dog that had no hope, according to the veterinarians. He had a terrible accident when he was almost 16 years old near the beginning of July 2021. During a visit to the beach, he fell on a concrete slab, and was severely injured. He walked for a while, but by the next day he couldn’t.

I took him to an emergency veterinarian service in Santa Barbara. There he received X-rays. The veterinarian attending him noted damage to his ribs and bones. I asked her if the damage was from pre-existing conditions, and she replied it was. But she said he was all wrecked up. Euthanizing him was recommended. But instead of allowing that to be done to him on the spot, I took him home.

Then I took Frankie to receive a hyperbaric oxygen treatment at the Atascadero Pet Hospital. The vet attending him, Dr. Ofer Cherbinsky, DVM, shaved his right side revealing the extent of his injury – his side was raw with deep wounds and cracks. He looked hopeless. The doctor nevertheless allowed Frankie to have an oxygen treatment. When I brought up the subject of spiritual healing, the vet felt I was unrealistic. Despite Frankie’s condition, he didn’t insist on putting him down for humane reasons. He also gave a lot of good advice. For example, Frankie had a bad pressure wound on his other side, and Dr. Cherbinsky suggested turning him every few hours.

Frankie continued to have oxygen treatments, and in about two months the wounds were almost completely healed. Dr. Cherbinsky noted that his front legs were strong but his back legs had no muscle mass. He recommended a wheelchair for dogs and water therapy. He noted in his report “owners know that Frankie will never be ambulatory again.”

Frankie didn’t take well to the wheelchair I obtained from the Ojai Humane Society. I took him to Atlas Institute for Canines in Santa Barbara and purchased a full body harness. It was of great help. We took walks, and I lifted up his back end with the help of a loop attached to the harness. He also did sessions once a week at the institute, which made a huge difference. This was made possible by generous donations allocated by Ojai real estate agent Dale Hanson.

Ojai chiropractor Steve Matzkin volunteered and gave Frankie adjustments every week. This was of tremendous benefit.

Gradually Frankie’s back legs gained strength as he put more and more weight on them. He started to walk a little around the house on his own. For example, when he knew he was going on a car ride, he got excited and walked for 30 feet or so, before falling down. At the time he was still wearing the harness.

Then on December 13, 2021 after about five months on his side, Frankie started walking unaided around the house. He continued to improve.

At his last oxygen treatment Dr. Cherbinsky noted “Frankie is looking GREAT. In good body condition, pink mm (mucus membranes), seems in good spirit. He can walk with very little support. He was placed in the hyperbaric chamber at 2 atmospheres for 45 minutes, was comfortable in it, and was sent home. Frankie’s recovery is amazing and I am so happy to see him like that. Hope he will keep improving as he is looking great.”

Years ago I helped a friend who lived in Ojai raise funds for her injured horse. We set up in front of the Ojai Farmers Market on Sunday. The fundraising went well. So this year I took Frankie to the Ojai market, and again, the fundraising was successful. I came all the way from Santa Barbara. Frankie and I spent many weeks at the market. The public was generous, and Frankie made many friends. Thanks to all the wonderful people who helped with Frankie’s ongoing care.

Unfortunately, Frankie just had another accident and is no longer with us. On May 15 in the morning about 7:40 am we did our usual routine. I let Frankie go in the front yard to take care of business and get a little exercise. A little bit later I came out and found him lying on the ivy covered with wasps from head to tail. The wasps had recently relocated to the area, and created a nest in the area Frankie walked. When I tried to move him, I was attacked by many wasps. I ran for a hose. Frankie cried. I grabbed the hose and sprayed the wasps to gain entrance. Then I pulled Frankie away from the wasp nest. I continued to hose him off in order to remove remaining wasps, and pulled clinging wasps from his body. He may have been stung hundreds of times. He seemed to be doing okay, but on the next morning about 4 am Frankie passed away. My heart is broken at losing my old friend, who originally came down the driveway as a puppy of about nine months old around March 2006.

Bryan Rosen