Saturday, March 31, 2012

Kevin Selfe and The Tornadoes to back up Santa Barbara Blues Icon Mitch Kashmar!




Kevin Selfe and the Tornadoes are excited to announce they will be backing up Delta Groove recording artist, former harmonica player with WAR, and two time Blues Music Award Nominee, Mitch Kashmar! They will be performing at the legendary Highway 99 Blues Club in Seattle, WA on Saturday, April 28th. For show information please visit: http://highway99blues.com/


Noted by his peers as one of the most soulful and powerful blues singers in the business today, Mitch Kashmar has shared the stage with some of the most influential blues musicians including John Lee Hooker, Big Joe Turner, Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson, Lowell Fulson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Pee Wee Crayton, Johnny Adams and many others.

So, it was an honor, yet no surprise, for Mitch to be invited to perform at the 9th Annual Edmonton’s Labatt Blues Festival in Western Canada in August 2007. Blues fans throughout Canada witnessed Mitch Kashmar and his band in action at the festival. And fortunately for blues fans elsewhere in the world, the event was captured for posterity by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and released by Delta Groove Music. Joining Kashmar at this festival performance are former bandmate from the Pontiax, drummer Tom Lackner, bassist Steve Nelson, pianist Jimmy Calire, and former William Clarke guitarist, John Marx, providing the perfect foil to Kashmar’s dynamic harp playing and emotive vocals.

“Mitch Kashmar is my absolute favorite blues harp player of his generation, and one of my favorites period! He’s also a first-class vocalist – his singing really knocks me out.” - William Clarke




While still attending high school, Mitch began sneaking into his first gigs with local bands in Santa Barbara using his brother’s ID. By 1980, he formed his own group, The Pontiax, continuing to perform throughout the Santa Barbara and Southern California region. Around the mid-80s, Mitch made the move to Los Angeles and The Pontiax recorded “100 Miles to Go” for the Belgium label, Blue Sting Records. They soon went out on the road expanding their fan base globally with tours throughout the US, Canada, Europe and the South Pacific.



The musical styles of The Pontiax drew on a wide range of influences including Chicago Blues, New Orleans R&B, West Coast Jump Blues and Swing, Boogie Woogie, Louisiana Swamp Rock, Texas Blues and straight forward Jazz. The Pontiax also became very popular within the music community being called into action on stage as back up band with many legendary blues musicians such as Albert Collins, Charlie Musselwhite, Luther Tucker, Pinetop Perkins, William Clarke, Kim Wilson, Roy Gaines and many of the aforementioned artists.



“Mitch was only 19 when I first heard him and he sounded good even then.

These days, oh man, is he tough!” – Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds



Mitch’s blues harp playing is second to none for creativity, drive and excitement. And he’s also just as witty and imaginative in the role of songwriter. He’s shared the stage with some of the biggest names in blues over the years with Stevie Ray Vaughan paying him the ultimate compliment given from one musician to another: “Can I sit in?”



Moving on to a solo career recording “Crazy Mixed-Up World” in ’99, Kashmar started making a name for himself and touring with his own band but it wasn’t until his 2005 effort “Nickels & Dimes”, featuring guitar great Junior Watson on Delta Groove Music’s label, that his stock really began to rise. Kashmar was recognized two consecutive years in a row by the Blues Music Awards with nominations in 2006 as Best New Artist Debut and followed in 2007 as Best Instrumentalist – Harmonica.



When taking a break from his solo career, Mitch has also signed on for active duty with the latest touring incarnation of the classic 70′s funk-rock band War, and even made rock ‘n’ roll history appearing onstage alongside legendary British rocker Eric Burdon & War for a reunion concert held on April 21, 2008 at London’s Royal Albert Hall.



Mitch Kashmar has come a long way since his youth in what is now often perceived as the quaint beachside community of Santa Barbara, CA. They’ve all known what the rest of the blues world is about to find out: Mitch Kashmar is a force to be reckoned with in the blues.








 
 
 
 
 
S.B.C.C.C. The place where COMMON SENSE never goes out of style!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Santa Barbara County must not close the Casa De La Raza, Just pretend it is the County Pension(SBCERS) and finance the debt FOREVER!

I am just thinking out loud here about what I have just seen on the news about how Santa Barbara County claims because of past due debt they may have to shut the Casa De La Raza's doors for an alleged past due debt.


That seems funny coming from a County that has repeatedly over funded a pension (SBCERS) that has carried a past due debt for over 24 years! I am just thinking out loud here but that just does not seem fair.



Are you all aware that if Santa Barbara County did not make this years additional amortized UAAL SBCERS Pension payment, next years County BUDGET would have a 45 MILLION dollars SURPLUS. Please feel free to contact me so I may help you work with the County!


Larry Mendoza

P.S. like the SBCERS Pension debt just amortize ours for 17 years and allow the Casa to stay open and serve the public!

My Grandparents Manuel & Angie Zuniga were their helping create the Casa and their names used to appear on the Founders list inside the building!

S.B.C.C.C. The place where COMMON SENSE never goes out of style!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Larry Mendoza, Deadline for you to commit to be interviewed for Lawless America... The Movie. This is about your research with the SBCERS pension and Two Billion Dollars in Fraud!

LawlessAmerica.com

Dear Larry Mendoza:

I am writing to ask you to confirm that you will be interviewed for Lawless America … The Movie, if you haven’t already done so.

I am just one of many victims of judicial corruption and government corruption. I am devoting the rest of my life to exposing government corruption because if someone doesn’t step up to try to organize an effort to save America, our children and grandchildren will never have the rights that we were all supposedly guaranteed. The problem is that few citizens realize what has happened. Our movie and videos should change this.



The DEADLINE for sending the information that we need is March 31, 2012. If we don’t receive your information by March 31, we will have to move forward without you.



I accept!!!






S.B.C.C.C. The place where COMMON SENSE never goes out of style!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

SBCERS Pension Fund earned 10.10% yearly net return average for 20 years (The math will not allow 1 Billion in UAAL)

I really believe it is mathematically impossible for our SBCERS county pension to be anything other than currently 100% funded. In fact just recently a local county elected official put me in contact with one of their VERY influential friends so that I could share my pension research with them. Here it was my time to shine and I did a very poor job of it. Not because my findings were incorrect but as it turns out my presentation was too confusing. I am contacted weekly about my pension research and I usually ask for a face to face meeting that may last upwards of two hours. Well as Larry Mendoza recently found out you better be able to provide a viable reason for some one's time if you are requesting their assistance.




It has taken me almost two years to learn that market value and book value is not the same thing. Also the accounting practice of smoothing gains and losses over a 5 year period makes it very easy to get confused as to how that affects the current value of the pension. So that let's see if I can simplify my findings in a manner that might help me obtain a meeting with that influential person. As we all know in order to keep the pension solvent two things must happen. 1-Santa Barbara County must contribute a specific percentage of its employee's salary to the pension fund. Then 2- these funds must then be invested and earn the required minimum net return on assets to meet all their pension obligations. As it stands right now the SBCERS pension has been reporting for years that the fund's investments have consistently under preformed. And because of this currently there is a 1 billion dollar deficit that must be immediately dealt with. Because of this the biggest challenge facing Santa Barbara County is the ever changing additional contribution rate used to offset and eliminate any unfunded portion to our pension. As of today this act will take at least a 20 year commitment. Have you heard that our County Officials is reporting that this year's budget will only have a 15 million dollar deficit? Are you aware that if we withheld the county's 2012/13 unfunded amortized payment to the pension our 15 million dollar deficit would change in to a 45 million dollar surplus? Or that the total sum of contributions to the SBCERS pension from 2009 through 2028 is enough to give every current County Employee two full pensions, YOU BETTER WAKE UP!



You see between 2009 and 2028 Santa Barbara County will actually contribute more to the unfunded side of the pension than the normal side? So during that 20 year span our County will be contributing to the pension at a rate of over 200 %. 100% will be the normal contribution rate and over 100% to the UAAL or unfunded side. See for yourself @ http://sbcers-trustee.com/Documents/2010-02-24-RRubalcavaPublicCommentHandout.pdf



Review the selection of alternative 2 as it pertains to the UAAL balance until the year 2028.

Because of the reported unfunded future liability (UAAL) this county has also been paying on the average an additional 55% above the normal rate to the pension for the past 24 years. Imagine my surprise when I found out the SBCERS 24-Year Compound Average "net return at market value" was an outstanding 8.5%. So once again let's do the math. Our Santa Barbara County pension has earned more than we required for 24 years on average. While our elected officials have been contributed 50% more funds than the normal required level. It is just mathematically impossible to be over funding our pension and out earning our target assumption for 24 years and be a Billion Dollars short. Yet our elected officials want us to believe there is just that 1 Billion dollars in future unfunded liability.



Well I hope I have your attention now because between the years of 1988 and 2007 our SBCERS pension earned an average net return on assets of a mind boggling 10.10%. Don't believe me check it out for yourself @

http://magicinsantabarbara.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/2007-actuarial-valuation.pdf

Santa Barbara County Employees'
Retirement System
ACTUARIAL VALUATION
June 30, 2007




















In closing lets do the math AGAIN. 20 years of earning a net 10.10% return while over contributing to the pension at 150% above the normal required amount.

I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO OFFER OUR COUNTY TAX PAYERS, PLEASE SEEK ME OUT.

S.B.C.C.C. The place where COMMON SENSE never goes out of style!