On Tuesday, February 13, Laguna families came together at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club in the name of love and music to benefit Direct Relief and all those affected by the Thomas Fire and Montecito mudslides. In addition to helping others and enjoying an evening of music by Laguna’s talented students, guests heard from Laguna […]
Lea másBill Wich’s involvement in the ManKind Project and other self-discovery weekends goes back more than 25 years. He went through the entire MKP training, quickly rising to the role of full leader, and helped developed curriculum over the years. Much of what he developed over decades was the basis for The Work, a documentary film […]
Lea másWhen I returned to Glen Oaks after the evacuation, I was still stunned by the physical and emotional devastation as neighbors mourn the loss of friends, relatives, their homes, and nature itself. Even as we begin to pick up the pieces, the weather forecast promised rain which turned out to be sprinkles not a storm. […]
Lea másOn the 26th of January, while driving south from Santa Ynez back to Redondo Beach, I went through Montecito and thought about my friend Missy. I knew she had been evacuated during the Thomas Fire, and again shortly thereafter, a second time, as a result of the mudslide. We had spoken only briefly in the […]
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In an effort to boost shopping and dining in Montecito’s upper village, a group of volunteers and neighbors have planned a special shopping, music, and food event at various locations in the upper village on Saturday, February 24, from 2 to 6 pm. Dubbed “Celebrate Montecito’s Upper Village,” the event will be a family-friendly way […]
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Fifty years ago, Old Coast Highway between Hot Springs and Olive Mill was redesigned, reconstructed, and renamed Coast Village Road. Now, the Coast Village Association (CVA) is looking for interested parties to bring new ideas, enthusiasm, and community spirit to reimagine the lower village, given new challenges such as traffic, lack of landscaping, and recovery from […]
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“The Queen of Hearts Tea Party” was the theme for Friendship Center’s 19th annual Festival of Hearts at the Fess Parker. It was to benefit H.E.A.R.T (Help Elders At Risk Today), which allows Friendship Center’s programs to remain available to all in need, regardless of income limitations. It’s always a fun luncheon, and this year […]
Lea más“Eye in the Sky” was a big hit for The Alan Parsons Project, reaching No. 3 on Billboard’s chart back in 1982. Thirty-five years later, drones – something the British rocker and producer famed for his early work with The Beatles and Pink Floyd hinted at but probably didn’t fully anticipate – proved especially helpful […]
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Berlin-based organist Cameron Carpenter, who I first saw two years ago, was back in our Eden by the Beach for another UCSB Arts & Lectures Granada show. The maverick showman, the first organist nominated for a Grammy Award for a solo album, continues to smash the stereotypes of organists, organ, and classical music as a […]
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Zhu Wang, a Chinese pianist currently studying at Juilliard, won The Music Academy of the West/Steinway & Sons inaugural Solo Piano Competition at last summer’s festival, taking home the $5,000 prize, and earning a recital tour that includes performances in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. The tour also features a return to Hahn Hall, […]
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Montecito’s cleanup effort is well underway with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers having cleared most of the creeks and debris basins. But a largely unanswerable question surrounds the massive mountain of mud still piled on private property: what to do with the stuff. This is not just an individual homeowner problem; it is a […]
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Montecito nun Pauline Krismanich, 88, who has lived at La Casa de Maria for 48 years, is retiring and moving to the Immaculate Heart Community center in Los Angeles. After being displaced by both the Thomas Fire and the mudslides, Pauline saw them as her sign to finally retire. She has been a figure around […]
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John Gorka is no stranger to the Santa Barbara music scene. The New Jersey-born, literate-but-fun singer-songwriter who started playing out in the late 1970s before moving to Minnesota in the 1990s has played at SOhO, done the Sings Like Hell thing, and made repeat visits to the Tales from the Tavern series in Santa Ynez, […]
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Unity Shoppe is on the move! After 15 years at 1219 State Street, the popular charity has moved just a tiara’s toss down the road to new premises at 1209, a former antiques store. The new shop is 4,900 sq. ft., which longtime executive Barbara Tellefson says gives them more room for storage and a […]
Lea másIn the aftermath of the Thomas Fire and 1/9 debris flow, the Santa Barbara County Flood Control District installed six additional real-time rain gauges to provide enhanced rainfall monitoring for the impacted areas. In cooperation with the National Parks Service, three new high-tech gauges were installed at weather monitoring stations on the Channel Islands, located […]
Lea másBeanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner is giving paws for thought! The hotelier, whose tony hostelries, including the San Ysidro Ranch and the Biltmore, were heavily impacted by the flash floods and mudslides last month, has produced Cito, a mixed-breed rescue dog, which will be given to each child in Montecito schools and all fire firefighters […]
Lea másHeal the Ocean (HTO) has received numerous (some irate) phone calls regarding the mud being deposited on Goleta and Carpinteria beaches. Television media has also called for a response from us. We told them, and everyone else, we were investigating and would let everyone know when we knew the answer. We at HTO don’t believe […]
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The venerable Granada threw its second annual Love Your Theater event for 80 members of its Premier Patron Society, when the inner workings of the stage, basement, and upper gantries were open to all and sundry. Champagne and comestibles sated the guests as they toured the labyrinth of corridors and dressing rooms as flamenco guitarist […]
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February not only includes Valentine’s Day, but it’s also a heart-healthy month with the “Go Red for Women” luncheon sponsored by the American Heart Association (AHA). Emcee Kelsey Gerckens told the sold-out audience at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, “Heart disease is the biggest killer of women, more than all cancers combined. One woman dies every 80 […]
Lea másAt this month’s Montecito Association meeting on February 13, the board began by holding the 70th annual assembly to install new board members a month later than originally planned. Members of the board, as well as a standing-room-only audience, held a moment of silence for the members of our community who perished in the January […]
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