8 Feb 2018
117th Annual NAMM Show
The NAMM Show (National Association of Music Merchants) jammed Anaheim January 24-28 with 7,000 music brands, 2,000 exhibiting companies, and 116,000 international attendees cruising the 3-story convention center, its new North building, and outdoor Grand Plaza concert stage. The NAMM University Education Center held 500 seminars at the Anaheim Hilton. The major coup this year […]
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Look Who’s Talking
Anthony Giardina‘s 2010 play The City of Conversation has proven to be even more prophetic than even he might have imagined. Set in Washington, D.C., during three important periods in recent American politics, the play spans nearly 30 years, from Fall of 1979 to January 2009, and traces the evolution of 1960s-raised Hester Ferris from […]
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Channeling In
In its heyday, Santa Barbara’s Channel City Club hosted some of the biggest names in the country. Senator Fred Thompson, for example, then considering a run for president of the United States, addressed a crowd of some 400 or so at the old Miramar. The event was memorable in that “Mr. Santa Barbara,” the late […]
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Helping Hands in Montecito
It has been nearly a month since we were awakened in the middle of the night, without electrical power, to the drumbeat of a pounding rainstorm and the roar of a descending mountain of mud and boulders. As is usual in a natural disaster, there were scenes of personal heroism from unnamed first responders and […]
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In Praise of Brian and Jay
I chose to write this letter even at the hesitation of the people I am writing it for… I am a past resident of Montecito, where I grew up. I attended Mt. Carmel School as well as Bishop Diego. I moved away after college, yet continue to visit my parents and sister who are still […]
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Grape Expectations
Santa Barbara winemaker Doug Margerum has been getting priceless publicity, with two of his wines being featured on the cover of the new issue of the Wine Spectator. His M5 white and sauvignon blanc are considered two of the best value wines in the world at $30 or less, out of more than 1,300 wines […]
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The Genesis Open
Could not pass up the opportunity to play a round at the fabled Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, so accepted an invitation from the folks presenting the Genesis Open, which runs February 15 to 18, to cover world number 1 golfer Dustin Johnson (D.J.) at a press conference there a couple weeks before he […]
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Montecito Miracle for Kirsts
It is an extraordinary tale of grit and survival. So much so that this illustrious organ’s bridle correspondent, Lynn Kirst and her 93-year-old mother, Colleen, were flown to New York last week by the NBC network to appear with Megyn Kelly on the Today show. In the 10-minute segment, the dynamic duo recounted in harrowing […]
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Striking Gold
It wasn’t quite the Olympics, but KEYT-TV reporters Mike Klan and Kelsey Gerckens were going for gold at the 68th annual Golden Mike awards in Los Angeles. The ABC affiliate broadcaster won the coveted trophies at a glittering Radio and Television News Association of Southern California gala at the Universal Hilton, with Kelsey – who […]
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Saints Marching In
All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church played a critical role on the night of the deadly mudslides, I learn. The church was spared the worst of the damage, but became a triage center for those injured in the disaster, says parishioner Sheri Benninghoven. “Hundreds of people descended on the church during the heart of […]
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Cover to Cover
Czech children’s author Petra Malinova has won the silver medal in the annual Illumination Book Awards with her first book, Birth of an Angel. Petra, who works for Montecito art and car collector Michael Hammer, beat out hundreds of other entries in the competition honoring Christian books. “In a time of Nones, the award medalists […]
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Puppet Master
KEYT senior reporter John Palminteri is pulling a few strings! Puppet Palooza Central threw a Puppets in Paseo event honoring the ubiquitous broadcaster and the ABC affiliate’s industrious team for their coverage of the Thomas Fire and the destructive and deadly aftermath. A Palminteri puppet was unveiled, complete with John’s signature moustache, that performed live […]
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Coming Together to Rebuild
One of the unexpected gifts of the twin tragedies of the Thomas Fire, the largest recorded wildfire in California’s history, and the subsequent Montecito mudslide that engulfed our small village, has been the outpouring of sympathy, compassion, and support from our neighbors in the City of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Summerland, Goleta, the rest of Santa […]
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Reopening the Village
Within the last week, Montecito started to return to normal, with the gradual reopening of the upper village shops, the YMCA, Montecito Library, several preschools, and Montecito Union School. The shops and restaurants in the upper village were closed a significant portion of December, due to mandatory evacuations during the Thomas Fire. Reopened for […]
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1 Feb 2018
Dave Cantin, May 7, 1968 – January 9, 2018
Dave Cantin, 49, of Montecito, California died suddenly as a result of the Montecito mudslides that occurred January 9, 2018. His wife, Kim, and daughter, Lauren, were injured in the mudslides and his son, Jack, 17, remains missing. David was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, 1968, and spent his early years in […]
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$1 Million and Growing
Santa Barbara was hardly given a chance to breathe following the Thomas Fire – the largest fire in recorded California history – when the Thomas Flood struck a far more damaging blow to the Montecito, California community. After the fire, a committee of appreciative community members quickly assembled to say “thank you” to the first […]
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Wise Guise
On December 9, 2013, I celebrated my 80th birthday at a hilltop park overlooking Santa Barbara. Inviting everybody, on a pot-luck basis, I announced, somewhat facetiously, that this would enable me to assume the role of a “Wise Old Man of the Mountain.” To my surprise, the City took this seriously, to the extent of […]
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Dive into Silence
Sunburst Sanctuary scheduled its popular annual silent meditation retreat long before the flames and flood afflicted Montecito and environs. And while our chatter-filled minds make it seem like staying quiet for a weekend could be cause for anxiety, perhaps quiet contemplation in the community is the perfect elixir for these challenging circumstances. Whatever the impetus, […]
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Cabana Home
Besides being able to furnish your digs at Cabana Home, you can find interesting art for the walls. Caroline and Steve Thompson, who own the business, continually hold openings for various artists from up and down the coast. The latest wine reception was for Robert Stone, who was raised in Santa Barbara and is now […]
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Crane School Hero, Joel Weiss
On the morning of January 9, our family narrowly escaped a tsunami of mud waters and our family is lucky to be alive. When the mountain of mud came at us, we fled our home as fast as we could. My husband took one car and I took another. We went to the right and […]
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