“It is a perhaps a little humiliating to us that we should have to wait till a stranger should come across the continent to reveal to us the beauties that lie at our door,” said the Reverend J.W. Hough at the library soiree in the Odd Fellows Building on State Street in September 1875. He […]
Lea másMonthly Archives: December 2019
Gwen Stauffer’s eleven-year stewardship of Lotusland will be remembered by many achievements, most recently the completion of Lotusland’s Japanese Garden renovation. Lotusland’s Board of Trustees has named Rebecca Anderson, currently the Garden’s Director of Philanthropy, as Lotusland’s Interim Executive Director. “We are all very excited to have Rebecca help lead the organization moving forward,” said […]
Lea másThe Montecito Community Foundation board of trustees met earlier this month to wrap up another successful year of donating funds to beautification projects throughout Montecito. The Foundation, which was formed in 1966, continues to be run by local citizens who oversee the granting of funds for projects that preserve and improve Montecito. In 2019 MCF […]
Lea másResidents have until January 6, 2020 to comment on a proposed project to construct a bike path adjacent to southbound lanes of Highway 101 between Estero Street in Carpinteria and Sand Point Road in unincorporated Santa Barbara County. The project, which has been planned for several decades and is in both the City of Carpinteria […]
Lea másOn Tuesday, December 10, the Montecito Fire Protection District marked the retirement of Communications Coordinator Jackie Jenkins, who served MFPD for 21 years. Jenkins began in Public Safety on April 1, 1980, at California State Parks, Pt. Mugu as an YCC Crew Member. At the same agency, Jackie continued as lifeguard and seasonal Ranger until […]
Lea másLast week Montecito Union School, in conjunction with the MUS Foundation, hosted its first ever “Grandfriends” Day, an opportunity for MUS students to show off their school to their grandparents or other friends or family members. “We wanted the event to be completely inclusive, so we did not limit it to only grandparents, as many […]
Lea másA Burning Bowl Bye-bye to ’19 Despite the fact that its ministry is in transition, Unity of Santa Barbara will again offer its popular annual releasing ritual known as the Burning Bowl Ceremony on New Year’s Eve in the sanctuary. Burning Bowl is an ancient fire ritual that serves as a symbolic way for people […]
Lea másThe Santa Barbara Historical Museum (SBHM) invited members to celebrate the season and see the opening of their latest exhibition, the Henry Chapman Ford (1828-1894) collection. Holiday cocktails and canapés set the festive tone along with lighting and white fabric “walls.” Deputy director Dacia Harwood said that many thanks go to sponsors Sharon and David […]
Lea másLadies still do lunch and love a fashion show! We know because the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort changed their ballroom into a luncheon with runway and lights to showcase six models. They were all breast cancer survivors who had gone to the Breast Cancer Resource Center (BCRC) for support. Prior to the show in […]
Lea másOh, December. How you push us to extremes! The library is here to help everybody survive those trying times, hopefully bookended by stellar ones. As 2019 draws to a close, we’d like to thank our patrons for making our library work so interesting and wonderful. In return, here’s two tips that we’d like to share. […]
Lea másOur Banana Republic County Last month another article appeared in the WSJ about our Cannabis County. Unfortunately, every national story, and there have been many, is like a drip that slowly corrodes our historic brand. This story contained familiar themes: the odor, values, and the reality that cannabis tax revenues continue to underwhelm. What was […]
Lea másThe most frequent community question I am asked is, “What is the future of the Montecito Journal under its new ownership?” As an investor in the “new” Montecito Journal Media Group, along with 30 other locals and families, my answer requires an analysis of the value of a local newspaper as well as a deeper […]
Lea másAs 2019 comes to an end, I’m choosing to focus on what’s right in front of my nose and how grateful I am that Montecito is my home. Today, seated at Merci near Vons in my favorite corner booth (for which I really should be paying rent – thank you Elizabeth and Stephane), before I […]
Lea másI looked over my shoulder at the car behind me to see if he would kindly backup. The driver of that car was looking over his shoulder at the car behind him with the same thought. The third driver back started to reverse but stopped when another car pulled in behind him. Ahead of us […]
Lea másWe hope you’re enjoying some of the lovely holiday decorations in our community. On December 4, we lit the tree in the Upper Green in front of Pierre Lafond, during Hospice’s now second annual Light Up A Life in Montecito. The Hathaway tree was decorated at Upper Manning Park by some fabulous elves that also […]
Lea másIn many cultures, there is a tradition linking the idea of a person’s fate with the concept of something being written down. In Jewish society, a favorite New Year greeting is the wish: “May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for the coming year.” A Persian poet, who lived about a thousand years […]
Lea másA question one often hears in Montecito this summer involves home real estate values within the dreaded “red zone.” Those currently in the red zone, whose homes were untouched by the 1/9 debris flow, ask how can they have their homes removed from the punitive evacuation red zone. To better understand the “red zone” and […]
Lea másMERRAG held its annual meeting at the Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore on Thursday, December 12. President Troy Harris listed the accomplishments of MERRAG over the past year, including the planning and execution of the Raising Our Light Remembrance Event on January 9, staffing information kiosks during the winter storm events from January through March […]
Lea másLast Wednesday, December 11, Montecito Association’s Beautification Committee along with Montecito firefighters and kids from Montecito Union School, upheld an over 50-year tradition of decorating the community tree. As mentioned in the Letters to the Editor section of last week’s edition, the festive holiday tradition was born in the early 1960s thanks to then Montecito […]
Lea másTwo new shops have opened at Montecito Country Mart, just in time for the final push of the holiday shopping season. Matt Albiani and Ron Brand, owners of Mate Gallery, have expanded their offerings into the adjacent space – formerly occupied by Kendall Conrad – opening Mate Men on Thursday, December 12. Mate Men carries […]
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