AnonymousBy Ernest Salomon
The Clark Estate (Bellosguardo) was left to the people of Santa Barbara by Ms. Hugette Clark. It was to be used for their benefit. Former Mayor Helene Schneider was tasked with guiding this wonderful gift for all to enjoy to fruition but wound up giving her former campaign manager and boyfriend Jeremy Lindaman a cushy six-figure job as Executive Director of the foundation without one minutes’ experience of running such an enterprise. Along came Dick Wolf and his rich pals and it became a wedding and party spot on the Pacific.
“Bellosguardo’s promotional and event expenses for 2018 and 2019 totaled $472,098, while event rentals only generated $190,650 in income, the records show. One of the nonprofit’s primary expenses, in addition to insurance, maintenance, and utility costs, is Lindaman’s $150,000 annual salary, a raise from previous years, as well as the $60,000 and $55,000 salaries of a house supervisor and groundskeeper, respectively.” (Source)
Several of us, including Tyler Hayden of the Independent, have kept a light shining on this travesty over the eight unfulfilled years it has gone on. After eight long years Bellosguardo is still shut to ordinary people, as Jeremy Lindamen, Dick Wolf & Co. continue to use it as a venue for the rich and famous to entertain themselves.
The Santa Barbara City Council should bear some of the blame as Ms, Clark turns in her grave. This is not what she intended as her legacy. They have done nothing to open up this jewel to Mr. and Mrs. Gonzalez and their children! The way this place is being run reflects de-facto racism against the working people who live here. There have been a few “house” minority people allowed to attend the lavish events along with predominantly white attendees. There’s something really wrong here.
This should be a lavish estate that is open to the public for their enlightenment, just like those that Donna and I have visited in Europe. If the most famous residences in the world like Versailles, King Ludwig’s Castle, Fontainebleau. Loire Castles, etc. can be opened to the world, then after eight long years, the band called “Lindaman-Wolf and The Elites, should find another venue to hold their gigs!
Let my people in!
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This commentary is timely and the allegations are of wide community concern. But the attempt to bring “racism” into the criticism seems stretched. Can’t we just act on the failure of the non-profit to meet its legal justification and the apparent insider profit that is taking place to the detriment of our community’s legal and moral reasonable expectations?
I wrote that it is de-facto racism because it has denied our blue collar workers and their kids, a great percentage of them Latino, a chance to see a great home, art and estate that was bequeathed to all of our local people for their enjoyment. Most will not be able to enter and be in awe of such a home elsewhere. So far, a huge majority of people who have been allowed to enjoy the estate have been the white, the rich and the famous. That’s de-facto racism! (de facto definition: existing in fact, although perhaps not intended, legal, or accepted.) Ernest Salomon
And where are Sac, Marcel, et al. for the pro-Schneider/anti right wing comments here?
Believe it or not, you don’t need to agree with everything your political representatives or party do. That is lost on far too many people these days, especially the right.
I agree 546, and because they constantly post I’m wondering what they think about the former mayor and what she’s doing here. I think it’s an honest question.
Yeah, well there are people of color that want to enjoy your car, truck, money and home and if you do not give those things up to them then you are a defacto racist by your own definition.
But I do agree that the way the estate is run is complete BS, but we probably disagree as to why.
I think elites are really all the same right or left. They’ll shut out the poor, common people and keep all the good stuff for themselves. Just look at the old Soviet Union for example, or look at how China is run today
What’s unreal is that Lindamann has been in charge for all this time and when they submitted their plan it was incomplete and scant on details. Eight years and Lindamann had nothing to show for his salary. That is completely pathetic and I hope the attorney general is auditing to determine how Lindamann justifies his salary for a non-profit.
The Clark Estate (Bellosguardo) was left to the people of Santa Barbara by Ms. Hugette Clark. It was to be used for their benefit. What has transpired over the past 8! Years! Is disgusting… would love to take my kids there. Who has the authority to correct this??
It’s entirely corrupt. The fact that Lindaman sits up there collecting 150k from a non-profit which has failed to implement its mission–he started out at 75k to do next to nothing five years ago and now he has doubled his salary by also achieving almost nothing relevant to the mission. The state is auditing them right now–in fact, the foundation should be stripped of its 501C3 status. Beyond that, I don’t know. Force a sale, give the money to the City of SB as the asset was intended to go originally. Or maybe just carry out the wishes of Ms. Clarke.
You don’t ask honest questions … it’s fundamentally not in your nature.
You are simply wrong; it was not left to the people of Santa Barbara. Clark bequeathed it to a private foundation of her own making, the Bellosguardo Foundation. Neither you nor I nor your kids have any claim to it. You should stop listening to serial liars like Salomon and zbhotep, whose lies have been exposed every time this has come up. And contrary to some basic human garbage dump in the 805, I say this not to defend Lindamen, whom I know nothing about but his behavior does seem questionable, nor Schneider, who hasn’t been mayor or otherwise involved in Santa Barbara affairs for years and for all I know no longer lives here, but simply because it’s true:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellosguardo_Foundation
I put blame for the problem largely on lying garbage like Mr. Salomon, who keep claiming that the estate was bequeathed to the people of Santa Barbara when they know that isn’t true.
BASIC – why would I be pro or anti Scheinder? You’re truly so filled with rage and hatred of liberals that you’d blame us for everything. I have no opinion either way on this, and don’t even know what’s going on. Your starting to sound like Voice.
If you are surprised that this home which was meant for public enjoyment has been kidnapped by the insatiable greed of the rich and corrupt, while masquerading as a non-profit, you don’t know how this town works.
The world goes upside down and I agree with MarcelK
“The estate was not bequeathed to the people of Santa Barbara”
He’s still a hateful bigot but at least on this issue seems functionally informed
Despising right wingers for their dishonesty, racism, and other unsavory traits is not bigotry.