The story of desalination in Santa Barbara dates back 32 years. Its plot, with all its twists and turns, rivals the movie, Chinatown, a tale of manipulation of water in Los Angeles in the 1930s. Faced with the threat of drought in the late 1980s, the City of Santa Barbara, the Montecito Water District and […]
Lea más
I have to say, when I first heard his story, it read like tall tale or legend, much like the stories of Paul Bunyan and John Henry. Bigger than life heroes, for sure; so the skeptical side of me decided to do some fact checking. What I discovered, despite the erroneous claim that he was […]
Lea másLongtime fixture Summerland Oriental Rugs has moved their showroom across the street to the former home of Clive Markey’s Pine Trader. Longtime treasure-filled Summerland Antiques Collective re-opened a few weeks ago and has been buzzing with activity adding to the retail mix… Carpinteria’sPorchis moving from Santa Claus Lane to Lillie Avenue (into the space formerly […]
Lea más
Trying to catch up with Shane Brown, creator and owner of the newly opened home and garden lollapalooza called The Well, in the indoor/outdoor spaces formerly known as The French Bulldog, Café Luna, Mediterránee Antiques, Summerland Rugs, and more, is a bit like trying to catch a fish with greased hands. “I get things done! […]
Lea más
With her captivating and confident demeanor, Chef Nancy Weiss says she often gets confused for a New Yorker. In reality, her love affair with food began a little closer to the Santa Barbara area where she would eventually cultivate her culinary career. Growing up in Los Angeles, Weiss became infatuated with the kitchen at age […]
Lea másThere is a collective myth of how America started out as a haven for religious freedom. While there’s some truth to that, in fact, America started as a business. The first settlers in Jamestown were commercially organized as The Virginia Company, and granted a charter in 1604 to exploit New World resources for the British […]
Lea más
Our town’s Annual Village 4th Parade was a great success! The Montecito Association went to great efforts to have a car parade whose route included all the Montecito area schools and where most of the students lived, as well as Channel Drive. The parade was well attended all along the parade route, lined with happy […]
Lea másOn June 30, Santa Barbara’s Grand Jury released an historic, scathing report detailing alleged official malfeasance by the Board of Supervisors as it sought to regulate cannabis over the past three years, particularly in Carpinteria but also in North County wine country. By law, the report mentioned no names and took no stand on the […]
Lea más
Faced with closing down the campus this summer, the Music Academy of the West’s summer festival performed a pivot so dramatic that anyone watching in person might have suffered whiplash. Rather than having the 134 fellows from around the world immersed in studies, classes, rehearsals, and performances on the Miraflores campus in Montecito, everything would […]
Lea másRight Side of History As I read the LA Times coverage of the independent SB Grand Jury’s scathing report on the unethical way our cannabis policy came to be, I had one silver lining thought: “Thank goodness the Montecito Journal had the wisdom – and guts – to be on the right side of history […]
Lea másI wrote this letter July 4th-5th, 2020. Growing up, Independence Day was one of my favorite holidays. It was a celebration of the strong shoulders upon which this great nation was built; a celebration of the principles our Founding Fathers fought for and a celebration of the Founding Fathers themselves. The food was great and […]
Lea másRaise your hand if you’ve ever wondered why medical workers do what they do. Don’t be shy. No one can see you after all, you’re reading a newspaper. It’s a natural thing to watch news footage of hospitals, the beds packed, the staff tired and wonder how anyone could want to go into healthcare (even […]
Lea másOne of the most famous lines of all poetry (originally written in Persian a millennium ago, but first translated into English in 1859) comes from a book called the Rubaiyat, and is about a “moving finger,” which “writes, and, having writ, moves on” – and nothing we can do can bring that finger back, to […]
Lea másThe San Francisco Bay Delta, the State Water Project, and Why Montecito Should Care Less than a year after being elected, the new board of the Montecito Water District is proposing changes to its rate structure and water source portfolio. Definitely a good thing to be considering, but there’s a lot we all need to […]
Lea más
Montecito mom Susan Crosby has been offering work out sessions and personal training for years, but now with everyone staying home, she has found a new way to connect with her clients. The Crosby family first moved to Montecito in 2003, thinking (like everyone else!) it would be a great place to raise a family […]
Lea más
I was a “Secret Garden” … “Green Mansions” kind of child. Deep forests, bright brooks, wide fields, and ocean waves beckoned my young exuberance. On the seldom occasions that an adult might be missing me, I would be found deep in the forest, grabbing minnows and crayfish from a tiny creek under the redwoods, or […]
Lea más
It’s the mobile basecamp transporting you to hidden natural wonders, where time slows down and the only set schedule moves along on its own course. You’re just along for the ride because you chose to be there, making the drive with enough provisions to see you through on your car camping excursion. All you need […]
Lea másLast Thursday, the Board of Directors of the Montecito Water District (MWD) voted unanimously to approve the Water Supply Agreement (WSA) with the City of Santa Barbara. Next up is approval by the Santa Barbara City Council. The WSA is expected to go before the City Council June 30. If agreement is reached, city water […]
Lea más
“Creative. Passionate. Dedicated.” These are the words most frequently used to describe Laguna Blanca’s Kindergarten Instructor and 2020 Faculty Excellence Award winner, Mieke Delwiche. Since 2009, Delwiche has ushered in scores of youngsters to Laguna while opening their hearts and minds to a love of learning. Always holding herself to the highest expectations, Delwiche has […]
Lea másRumors have been swirling about the extended closure of Montecito’s Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore, which has been closed since March due to the pandemic. Hotels in the county were cleared to reopen on Friday, June 12, but the Biltmore’s doors have remained closed, leaving staff members and nearby locals wondering what the future holds […]
Lea más