8 Aug 2019
Memoirs Of A Garden
“Lotusland was created by Polish opera singer Madame Ganna Walska, and visitors should prepare themselves for the ultimate theatrical garden experience. Perhaps only in the climate and culture of Southern California could such a creation have been conceived and accepted, a fantasy of remarkable set-pieces of design and planting quite unlike any other garden.” The […]
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Memories, Regrets, and Resurgence: Crosby Doc Opens
Watching David Crosby: Remember My Name at a SBIFF screening at a sold-out Lobero Theatre back on Super Bowl Sunday last February 3 was a thrilling but almost excruciating experience, made even more so knowing that the aging Santa Barbara-raised rock star was seated just a few rows away, watching himself sing, and squirm, on […]
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Annual Fête Celebrates Santa Barbara’s Sta. Rita Hills
A rose by any other name may still be a rose. But when it comes to wine grapes, nomenclature matters. Just ask anyone who makes wine in the Sta. Rita Hills. The 10 square-mile ag region nestled in the westernmost reaches of the Santa Ynez Valley – where Buellton gives way to Lompoc and where […]
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Spewing Out Stories One Minute at A Time
Roald Dahl could have invented the Short Story Dispenser. The Dahlian gizmo, that spews out free stories to an on-the-go or bored public at the push of a button, is the machination of Short Édition, a French company based in Grenoble. The publishing company, created in 2011, has more than 9,000 authors, who submit short, […]
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Missing Julian
Regular readers know how fondly we cared for the late Julian Nott, balloonist, pilot, inventor, and physicist extraordinaire. So, we thought we’d share this memory from his widow, Anne Luther: “In following the anniversary celebrations of the moon landing recently it was hard not to remember how much of a hero Neil Armstrong was to […]
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Montecito Motor Classic Moves
They are still calling it the Montecito Motor Classic, but it won’t be taking place on Coast Village Road. Actually, the popular eight-year-old car show couldn’t have taken place on Coast Village this year because the county is about to begin a three-month resurfacing project on Coast Village Circle, hit hard by last year’s debris […]
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Hollywood Medium’s Rare Visit
According to Tyler Henry, he first noticed his clairvoyant abilities at age 10, when he woke suddenly one night with a strong feeling his grandmother was about to die. Minutes later, his family received a call informing them of his grandmother’s passing. After this experience, Henry regularly experienced vivid dreams that frequently contained messages from […]
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How Hot is Today’s Market?
The Montecito Heat Index identifies demand for Montecito single family homes. By measuring buyer contracts (pending sales) rather than sales (closed escrows) lagging typically thirty days, the Heat Index provides a forward-looking indicator of both market strength and direction. It also shows us the price point(s) where value is most recognized by buyers and the […]
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Alsop Conducts AFO at Granada
Marin Alsop is a serious classical musician, perhaps even more so than the average conductor, given what she had to go through to accomplish what she has over a 35-year career. Along with her many other achievements, Alsop became the first woman ever to lead a major American orchestra when she was appointed music director […]
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What’s Up with the Highway 101 Widening?
Last week, I had lunch with the two people who will either make your life more miserable or much happier over the next 10 years. They are the principal players in the widening of the US 101 as it slowly migrates northward toward Montecito. Scott Eades is the Caltrans point person designated as the Santa […]
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A Heroine’s Journey
Q. Dear Dr. Brill. I have appreciated much of what you have written. I understand that you are interested in what produces change. With the crises in our ocean, could you say something about that? . . . Marlene in Carpinteria A. Thank you, Marlene. I thought I would try to answer your question in […]
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North, South, East, And Waste
When I first emigrated to America, from a Europe which was still recovering from World War II, one of my earliest impressions was that the whole society seemed to be built on the principle of wastefulness. I said to myself, “In this country, I could live on what people throw away.” For better or worse, […]
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Prince of Broadway
On a personal note, I remember Broadway icon Hal Prince, who left us for more heavenly pastures aged 91. Prince was the driving force for many of the Great White Way’s most memorable productions, including Cabaret, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, and Phantom of the Opera, the longest running stage show in Manhattan. In his […]
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New Venture for Anais
Anais Pellegrini has joined the Santa Barbara Symphony as Vice President of Advancement. Born in Malta and raised in China, Australia, and Hong Kong, she began her career in fundraising at New York’s Katonah Museum of Art in 2005 and has since worked for a range of non-profit organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Community […]
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An Obama in Ojai
After Queen Elizabeth‘s granddaughter Princess Beatrice dining at Lucky’s with her boyfriend, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, it was the turn of former President Barack Obama‘s daughter, Malia, and her beau Rory Farquharson, to check out the area. The twosome, who both attend Harvard and have been dating for three years, were spotted at the Ojai Valley […]
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Fiesta Kick-Off
A positive plethora of presidents, past and present, descended on the Hilton Beachfront Resort for the sold-out 71st annual La Reception del Presidents, kicking off Fiesta Week in grand style. The fun fête in the Plaza del Sol, short on speeches and long on tradition with dancing and music, attracted more than 330 local dignitaries, […]
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Belle of the Ball
It was all a very hush-hush affair when Belle Hahn, daughter of the late billionaire art dealer Stephan Hahn, who died in 2011, celebrated her 35th birthday with a night on the tiles. More than 120 guests gathered on the rooftop of the MOXI Museum for the top secret bash, with Belle thinking she was […]
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The People Behind Montecito’s Roads Part I
While Montecito’s roads were a nameless, mazelike mess in the 1870s, by 1899, with the introduction of Rural Free Delivery postal service, order and identification began to be placed on the street system. (See MJ “Early Roads in Montecito” July 18, 2019.) All would remain dirt roads, however, until 1909, when the first few roads […]
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1 Aug 2019
New Community Resource Deputy in Carpinteria
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is has announced a new Community Resource Deputy for the City of Carpinteria: Senior Deputy James Carovano was selected to fill the position and has been on the job since July 1, 2019. Senior Deputy Carovano is a five-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office and is currently assigned to […]
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Rotarian of the Year
Matthew Kowallis has been named Rotarian of the Year for the Rotary Club of Montecito, as announced during the club’s step-down dinner last month. An active member of the club since 2017 and a Rotarian since 2010, part of his contributions to the club included planning the club’s six local service projects over the past year […]
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