Gala raises cash and many questions, too

12/23/05

BARNEY BRANTINGHAM

You might call it the $1 million question:

How come Sheriff's Council leaders bragged that its September gala at Bacara Resort & Spa brought in $2.4 million, when it now turns out that the net was only about $1.4 million?

Did it really cost a million bucks to throw the benefit shindig?

The answer seems to be, pending a hard-nosed audit, that the event itself cost about $400,000 to put on, including dubious freebie rooms and $1,000 for caviar for an elite "pre-party."

That leaves a $600,000 gap, made up apparently of claimed in-kind services, not in cash, and overstated donations due to pledges that never turned into dollars.

Every buck that was misspent, or reneged on, deprived those who protect and serve.

I heard from former Sheriff John Carpenter about the brouhaha: "Congratulations to Sheriff Jim Anderson for his decision to part ways with the Sheriff's Council," he said.

"If Santa Barbara County cannot provide the men and women of the Sheriff's Department the necessary equipment to carry out their difficult job, someone should re-examine its priorities."

John, I'm not sure congratulations are in order, but questions are.

Speaking of re-examining, people are taking a closer look at the council's dubious spending priorities at its Bacara bash, lavished in Louis XVI style.

For one thing, how come Sheriff Anderson's daughters and council President Helen Jepson's son and hairdresser got free rooms, at a cost of how many protective vests that could have been purchased for deputies?

Let them eat cake when things get dangerous on the street?

There are more red flags flying over this party than at an Indy 500 race, and Anderson can't just walk away and wash his hands of the whole fiasco.

* Alive and well in PV: DeeDee Lane and other members of the Santa Barbara Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee were strolling in PV when who should they run into but Bruce Rittenhouse, the gadfly who ran for City Council here umpteen times.

"He looks absolutely wonderful, happy and very, very tan," DeeDee said. And he has a great big thank you for all who didn't vote for him. Why? Because "it helped to change his life for the better."

* Big bill: "My last Edison bill reflects the stupid thinking of our city tax department," complains Herbert Menzel. (Or was Edison really to blame?)

Herbert, along with many of us, got a huge packet from Edison, going back months refiguring our bills in light of a city utility tax hike. "That added the extra burden on Edison to adjust the billing charges from Aug. 12, 2005, to Nov. 17," he wrote.

"If they had been smart, they would have made the tax effective on Nov. 17 or later."

But Mayor Marty Blum says the city gave Edison plenty of time to put the tax hike into effect on time in August. "The approvals were back last spring. Edison took a long time figuring out the billing."

* Island dreaming: Joan Tapper, former editor of Islands magazine, and photographer Nik Wheeler have just come out with a coffee-table book about the Caribbean, "Island Dreams."

Meanwhile, the late Walker Tompkins' "The Yankee Barbare–os," a monumental 527-page work about the Americanization of Santa Barbara County, has hit Chaucer's, Tecolote and the Book Den bookstores. The late Tompkins wrote it in the 1960s. His wife, Barbara, edited it for publication.

* Grey Cat petted: Cheers to Santa Barbara County musician Peter Feldmann, whose "Grey Cat on the Tennessee Farm" was honored by the Chicago Tribune and columnist Dave Royko as one of the top 10 bluegrass albums of 2005. (Royko is the son of the late columnist Mike Royko.)

Barney Brantingham's column appears Wednesdays through Sundays. You can reach him at 564-5105 or by e-mail at bbrantingham@newspress.com.