A former colleague from my days as a columnist on the News-Press a decade ago, Kathy Jean Schultz, an accomplished medical science writer, has written her first book, The Pudd Tale and Other Short Stories. “They are nothing like my medical research articles,” says Kathy. “They are quite the opposite – fictional, light hearted satires. […]
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Santa Barbara photographer-videographer Isaac Hernandez, a Spanish immigrant who has lived in our Eden by the Beach for three decades, has compiled a film documentary he describes as “a love letter to the history, people, environment, and organizations” that make our tony town so special. The 53-minute project, Better Together: Through Oil, Mud and Fire […]
Lea másLights Up! Theatre Company, a new school-year teen theatre conservatory program offering acting, singing, and dance instruction that just started in August, won’t mount its first full production until spring, when the company will take on the musical version of Big Fish at the Marjorie Luke in April. But the teens were just too talented […]
Lea másLast year, Isabel “Izzy” Fuentes achieved what is just about every teenage ballerina’s dream – getting cast as Clara, the girl who gets to go on a fairy tale journey with the come-to-life title character of The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky’s famed Christmastime ballet, danced every December by Santa Barbara’s State Street Ballet. Then came the Thomas […]
Lea másThe SKY Meditation program was just getting a toe-hold in Santa Barbara earlier this year when an unexpected personal situation caused a step back just as the technique, popular around the country, was getting ready to begin a series of regular trainings. After an eight-month hiatus, SKY returned with two free intro evenings earlier this […]
Lea másIn last week’s Montecito Miscellany, we mistakenly left out Gonzalo Sarmiento from the photo’s caption, which should have included Mr. Sarmiento. Many apologies. Mulling Mueller Matters There are certain areas of the Mueller investigation that could be very disturbing when his report comes out later this month. As a former FBI director, does Mr. Mueller […]
Lea másWith profound sadness over the loss of such a bright light, please know that Mary has passed. She spent her last days at Serenity House in Santa Barbara, surrounded by friends and family and enough love to support Mary’s boundless spirit. Mary was born in San Diego in 1973. She was raised by her Grandmother, […]
Lea másCalifornia’s aging State Water System with its surface canals and pumps was designed to meet the needs of 25 million California farmers and urban users. Today, it struggles to provide sustainable water for 40 million current state residents. Fortunately, technology – at a price – can help solve the problem, especially for coastal communities, if […]
Lea másHere and there in your life, you may have come across the expression “A Message to Garcia.” It’s one of those phrases useful in such a wide variety of situations that the original meaning has largely been forgotten. Those words became a cultural icon after appearing as the title of an essay, published in 1899, […]
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On Monday, November 27, a Badge Pinning ceremony took place at the board of directors meeting of the Montecito Fire Protection District to honor three recently promoted fire personnel. Rod Walkup was promoted to engineer. He joined the organization in 1995 as a reserve firefighter and was hired full time August 1, 1999. He is […]
Lea másOn a personal note, I mark the passing of Tita Lanning, chatelaine of Montecito’s historic El Mirador estate, just three days before her 85th birthday. The sprawling property was bought by her grandmother, Lolita Sheldon Armour, in 1914 and was known for its beautiful Japanese and Italian gardens. Tita, the daughter of Lolita Armour of […]
Lea másA grant of $20,000 from the Music Academy of the West has enabled pianist Evan Shinners, who attended the Miraflores campus in 2009, to put his keyboard talents to good use with a pop-up shop in Manhattan offering Bach prelude, fugues, and even condoms. The Juilliard-trained pianist has been playing five hours of Bach each […]
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It was running hot and cold when the Santa Barbara Polo Club hosted a sold-out Fire and Ice party. More than 185 guests scoffed and bopped the night away when temperatures dropped into the 50s, the winds blew and the rain, briefly, poured. Fortunately a tent, with heat lamps, had been erected a few feet […]
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With dozens of participants, Westmont College’s 14th annual Christmas Festival at the First Presbyterian Church was undoubtedly the hottest ticket in town, with four performances staged to cater for the demand. With the full arsenal of the Montecito college’s music talent on display, including the orchestra, women’s and men’s chorale, and the chamber singers, the […]
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United Way board member Bob Hollman and his wife, Joan, opened the doors of their beautiful Montecito Valley Ranch home for VIP supporters for a festive fete, with Ocean’s Eight producer Susie Ekins regaling guests with Hollywood dish. Ekins was also executive producer for Ocean’s 10, 11, 12 and 13! Among those quaffing the champagne […]
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It was quite the wedding at the Montecito Inn when prolific author Carl Boggs tied the knot with Laurie Nalepa, a dean at Los Angeles Valley College, in a ceremony presided over by Ford Roosevelt, grandson of FDR. Carl, who has written 23 books, spent much of his childhood in our rarefied enclave, just a […]
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The Alzheimer’s Association held its fifth anniversary Your Brain Matters lunch at the Hilton, with a special tribute to longtime supporter, sweet Swede Gerd Jordano, co-founder of the Alzheimer’s Women’s Initiative. The boffo bash for 500 guests, chaired by Leslie Ridley–Tree, raised around $250,000 and honored actress Sarah Rafferty, who co-starred with Meghan Markle – […]
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It was ten at night, and two weary travelers stood at Track 17 at Toronto’s Union Station, waiting to board The Canadian. The brochure for this flagship of Canada’s VIA Rail system had promised “comfortable accommodations” in “superior sleeper cabins,” and we were filled with the anticipation of looking out our window as the train […]
Lea másA few months before the fires and the terrible mud slides in Montecito, I wrote to Santa Barbara County South Coast Maintenance Superintendent Randy Carnahan and attached a picture of the cracked asphalts on the surface of Channel Drive and asked that it be repaired. He responded that he would place it on the repair […]
Lea másThe Santa Barbara Writers Conference has birthed a lot of books and other published works in its decades-long history, including Montecito author Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes. This year, SBWC can claim another new offspring via the Santa Barbara Literary Journal, a fully bound volume that debuted this summer and has just published its second […]
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