10 Jan 2019
Remembering January Ninth
The Day The Hill Came Down First, of course, there was the fire. The Thomas Fire, so named because it began on the campus of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula before devouring nearly 300,000 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara County along with nearly one thousand homes and/or structures. Following California’s cycle of cataclysms, […]
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Bella Vista Bash
Social gridlock reigned when tony twosome, Pat and Ursula Nesbitt, threw a heaving holiday bash at Bella Vista, their sprawling Summerland polo ranch. More than 150 guests were welcomed to the bustling beano, catered by the Biltmore, by ballerinas from the Luminario company in Los Angeles, while the Lois Mahalia Choir entertained with gospel and […]
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All We Need is Music
A Soul Train of Motown music steamed on to the Granada stage when the Santa Barbara Symphony, under energized maestro Bob Bernhardt, staged its annual New Year’s Eve Pops concert, Dancing in the Streets. The highly entertaining show featuring American Idol finalist Michael Lynche, alongside Broadway stars Shayna Steele, who appeared in Rent, Jesus Christ […]
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Birthday Boy
To the historic Union Hotel in Los Alamos when English rocker Alan Parsons, who has been nominated for 11 Grammys, celebrated the 20th anniversary of his half century with a heavenly host of friends and music stars. The songwriter and record producer, who worked on the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Let It Be albums, as […]
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Ringing in the New Year
As usual, tout le monde was at the New Year’s Day lunch thrown by affable gardening guru George Schoellkopf and international artist Gerald Incandela at their stunning Summerland aerie. The dynamic duo, who fly between their estates here and Washington, Connecticut, kicked off 2019 in splendiferous style with free flowing Bordeaux and Moet champagne, beef […]
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One Shell of a Name
Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner‘s San Ysidro Ranch is going the full Monty! After suffering considerable damage in the devastating mudslides a year ago, the exclusive 500-acre hostelry expects to be fully operational again in the spring, with the resort’s restaurants, the Stonehouse and Plow & Angel, opening to diners on a full-time basis in […]
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Oh, Brothers
“They are excellent, they sing really well,” David Crosby tweeted last October, hours after seeing The Brother Brothers open for I’m With Her at the Lobero Theatre. The folk-rock icon surely wasn’t the only music lover who was pleasantly surprised, as the sustained applause and cheers proved that many were basically blown away by the […]
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A Modest Disagreement
Referencing Dick Shaikewitz‘s letter to the editor (“Ethics in Journalism,” MJ # 24/51), it is apparent that former Montecito Water District (MWD) Director Shaikewitz and I have a difference of opinion over how to provide water security for the residents of Montecito and Summerland. He believes that, contrary to state law, a written strategic plan […]
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Montecito Polar Bears Swim NY2019
The annual Polar Bears Swim in Montecito was held New Year’s Day 2019 at Butterfly Beach on a gloriously sunny day, high tide, with ocean waters at 57 degrees Fahrenheit matching the daily highs of 60 degrees, and a wind-chill on shore making it feel like 32. Holding her place as the longest ranking active […]
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Back to School
SBCC’s Adult Ed, or rather its School of Extended Learning, has morphed back into a full-service educational institution, with a schedule that’s nearly as full as it was back in the heyday in the 1990s. Fee-based classes might outnumber the free ones, but there are plenty in both categories that fall under the wide umbrella […]
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Eatery Updates
Several Coast Village Road restaurants have announced new offerings for the new year, including extended hours. At Coast Village Plaza at 1187 Coast Village Road, Renaud’s is now serving dinner with a “fast casual fine dining” service. Owner Renaud Gonthier said it has been a dream for many years to expand upon his patisserie and […]
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Mitigating Future Debris Risk
Next Wednesday, January 16, the Partnership for Resilient Communities and Montecito Union School’s superintendent Anthony Ranii will host an informational community meeting to discuss realistic opportunities to mitigate future debris flows. In late December, the Partnership received emergency permits to proceed with the installation of 11 debris flow control nets in San Ysidro, Buena Vista, […]
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Montecito Association’s Annual Meeting
Tuesday, January 8, 2019 was the 71st annual Montecito Association meeting, marking the retirement of directors Frank Abatemarco, Frank Blue, Barbara Matthews, and Michelle Saltoun. Outgoing president Charlene Nagel thanked the board for their service during her two-year tenure as president, noting the achievements of the Association in the last year, including several successful events, […]
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Wildlife Resolutions
Many of us have New Year’s resolutions for 2019. It’s common to shoot for the stars and find out that two weeks into January our resolutions are more difficult to keep up than we thought. Not to worry! Here’s an easy resolution to stick with all year: saving wild lives. The finches at our feeders, […]
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Reef Restoration
Last October, aqua-hero and CEO of the Fish Reef Project Chris Goldblatt, with members of the team, invited a handful of journalists on a donated pontoon boat to watch the implementation of an artificial reef set in the shallow waters of Lake Cachuma. The Fish Reef Project strives to show that artificial reefs – a […]
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The Impossible Made Possible
While most of us in Montecito were making merry over the holiday season, former City of Santa Barbara Fire Chief, Pat McElroy, who is now Executive Director of the Partnership (Partnership for Resilient Communities), was pounding the halls of government, along with Montecito land use attorney Joe Cole, permitting guru Suzanne Elledge, and local government […]
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Utah, Land of the Gasp
I love a good excuse. “Why can’t you go to the store?” “Be-cause-ah, dear, my bad front tire could blow and sound like a gunshot. Then the police would show up and I could get arrested for creating a disturbance and be put in a damp jail cell where I could catch pneumonia and die.” […]
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Bye Bye Birdie
One of the most famous pieces of literature in the English language is about a talking bird. No, it’s not a parrot or a mynah – and I don’t mean Edward Lear’s accomplished Owl who eloped with a Pussy-Cat, and could sing and play the guitar while operating a sailboat. The particular bird I am […]
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Remembering Frank
Venture capitalist Frank Caulfield, who lived on the late racing tycoon Andy Granatelli’s Sycamore Canyon Road estate, has died at the age of 80. Caulfield, co-founder of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers in 1972, famously rented out his home in 2011 for the overblown $10 million wedding of reality TV star Kim Kardashian to basketball […]
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