Author and educator Dick Jorgensen, 92, has had quite the colorful life, volunteering as a teacher in China, India, Mongolia, Africa, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and Australia. Now, the Santa Barbara writer has written the second of his three planned memoirs, Yuko: Friendship Between Nations, which follows on from his vibrant first autobiography, O Tomodachi: Friend, […]
Lea más
A virtual army of nearly 6,500 firefighters, along with 30-plus helicopters, various other aircraft, fire trucks, bulldozers, and more are, as we write this, working in the back country, mostly out of sight, securing fire lines and control points by a combination of controlled backfires, soaking unburned vegetation, creating breaks where no dry foliage is […]
Lea más
Like most of the region, people at Westmont learned about the Thomas Fire following the massive power outage December 4 that thrust the entire campus and 1,200 students into darkness. The disruption continued into the morning hours as officials scrambled to fix infrastructure that crippled the college’s website and email servers. Smoke from the blaze […]
Lea másSanta Barbara-born, Berklee-trained blues guitarist-singer-songwriter Alastair Greene has been plying his trade professionally for 20 years now, but the last seven or so has seen him put his own trio on the back burner in favor of a lucrative role as sideman to Alan Parsons, one of progressive-rock’s progenitors, who also lives locally. But now […]
Lea más
With dozens of participants, Westmont College’s oh-so-popular 13th annual Christmas Festival at the First Presbyterian Church is undoubtedly the hottest ticket in town, with four performances staged to cater for the demand. With the full force of the Montecito college’s music talent on display, including the orchestra, women’s and men’s chorale, and the chamber singers, […]
Lea másNoell Grace, Ejé Lynn-Jacobs, and the SpiritSings Band have a Yuletide offer: Come all ye merry souls for a magical evening of Christmas carols, mystical solstice chants, and original spirit songs celebrating peace on Earth and the darkest days returning to light. The long-running SpiritSings turns its attention to the holidays, a special show when […]
Lea más
The Arlington Theatre was packed for the much-awaited return concert by Pink Martini, the Portland, Oregon, musicians making their eighth appearance here, all eight of which I have been lucky enough to see. The sold-out show, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series, featured Harvard graduate China Forbes on vocals singing a wide […]
Lea másI would like to recommend to Bob Hazard, who wrote the recent Guest Editorial (“California Screaming,” MJ #23/48), that the Los Angeles Times of Tuesday, December 5, published a brief letter from a Godfrey Harris under the subject of “Why we pay taxes”. From Mr. Harris’s point of you, which I agree with, Americans are […]
Lea más
It was just the ticket for this illustrious organ’s bridle correspondent Lynn Kirst when she attended the Dream Foundation’s annual gala at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. Lynn splashed out $200 for 10 raffle tickets at the popular fete and came up a winner, receiving a diamond and 18-carat gold necklace featuring an ancient Roman coin designed […]
Lea más
We flew from Miami to the eastern edge of Cuba to Holguin and transferred by bus to Santiago de Cuba, one of the first European settlements in Cuba dating to 1514. It is said that all wars started in Santiago and ended there. A poet, essayist, and revolutionary, one of Cuba’s heroes is Jose Marti, […]
Lea más
As Santa Barbara transitions into winter, various wildlife species adapt and move into the coastal waters for the season. Large populations of water birds such as western grebes migrate into the Santa Barbara Channel for wintertime. They are completing a migration pattern that can range from the Pacific Northwest in the spring and summer to […]
Lea másGrowing older is not all gloom and doom; it’s a lot about having a great attitude, no matter what’s thrown at you. Take Betty Meyer, for instance. She’s upbeat, and her voice has a twinkle in it. Talking to her is like taking a step back into a more gracious time. Betty plays bridge; she […]
Lea másIf you follow this column, you have likely heard me mention the lack of new listings in Montecito over the past six months or so. This lack of new housing inventory is never more evident than it is on the Montecito broker-agent open house tours on Wednesdays. Many real estate agents look forward to broker […]
Lea más
Hitting the gym. The track. The links, or the courts, we do it because we want to gain muscle, and lose fat, but what else do we lose when working out? Our energy stores are depleted, and our bodies excrete fluids through perspiration. We need to replace those fluids and refuel our muscles too. Lately, […]
Lea más
“There’s No Such Thing as ‘Fun for the Whole Family’.” – Jerry Seinfeld Funny! … and true? Recently, I had the chance to run a field test. When I turned (a boyish) 70, my wife gave me a remarkable present: I could choose a trip anywhere in the world. My mind flooded with ideas: seeing […]
Lea másIn the fall of 1785, a young Scottish farmer was working in one of his fields, when his plow happened to overturn the nest of a field mouse. The victim scampered away – but the perpetrator felt sadly about his inadvertently cruel act – and eventually wrote a poem about it. The poet was Robert […]
Lea másMontecito author Robert Eringer has been following in the footsteps of award-winning novelist Kurt Vonnegut, who died in 2007 aged 84. The odyssey to the writer of the darkly satirical best seller Slaughterhouse-Five, as well as 13 other novels, began when fellow Montecito writer T.C. Boyle suggested the trip to Robert when they bumped into […]
Lea másMontecito is small in size but famous for its natural beauty and relaxed lifestyle. Whether you hike the Montecito trails, stroll Butterfly Beach, order a cup of coffee or a snack – the community character remains the same – unhurried, laid-back, charming, uniquely engaged, small-town friendly service, and locally owned businesses. The shops and businesses […]
Lea másIt was all too beastly for words when the Santa Barbara Symphony, under guest conductor Lara Webber, held its second annual family concert Carnival of the Animals at the Granada. With tickets a mere $10, the 1,500-seat venue was packed with parents and children as the ubiquitous Andrew Firestone hosted and narrated the show with […]
Lea más
Balloonacy reigned at the Coral Casino’s La Pacifica ballroom where hundreds of balloons festooned the ceiling of the oceanside hotspot for the 26th annual Catholic Charities Mistletoe Ball, which attracted 217 guests and raised around $100,000 for the 93-year-old organization serving 44,000 people with an annual budget of $1.8 million. The Yuletide beano, co-chaired by […]
Lea más