Math-whiz turned massively successful investor Pete Muller is passionate about all of his pursuits. Besides his family, surfing, poker, and solving and creating crossword puzzles, there’s his day job as the creator and manager of one of the most sought after quant-driven hedge funds on the planet, the aptly-named Process Driven Trading, which has never […]
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The NatureTrack Film Festival began in 2018 as a way to raise funds and draw attention to the then-seven-year-old nonprofit NatureTrack Foundation, which brings schoolchildren out into nature for docent-led treks along trails in the Santa Ynez Valley. With nature now even more important during the pandemic as outdoor activity is far less conducive to […]
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US. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recognized Montecito Union School (MUS) as one of the 367 National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2020. MUS won the coveted honor in the “Exemplary High Performing Schools” category which honors each state’s highest performing schools. Montecito Union School is a one-school district serving the community of Montecito with transitional […]
Lea másThis week I’m taking the opportunity to sound off from my soapbox, since the lead item on the Summerland’s popularity vote “yea” or “nay” for a cannabis dispensary in town, which ran a few weeks ago, created quite a little stir that resulted in three letters to the editor printed over three issues. First, I […]
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Andy Caldwell’s mother was an immigrant from Austria and his father was a Bataan Death March survivor. Andy was born on an Air Force base in Jacksonville, Arkansas. After his father got out of the Air Force, they moved to Kingsburg, California, just south of Fresno. His dad passed away when Andy was nine years […]
Lea másExploring the glue that holds our nation together – Part 2 “Keep those cards and letters coming.” Really now, is buying stamps all we can do to save the Post Office? Is delivering cards and letters all we should expect of the Post Office because there is more of a “personal touch” with them than […]
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Jaya Lakshmi and Ananda – the Oregon-based mantra music mavens who have performed their popular blend of kirtan, healing mantra music, original compositions in English and Sanskrit, and Kirtronica (a fusion of kirtan and electronica) at several venues in Santa Barbara – have a much-anticipated new album ready for release. But due to pandemic restrictions […]
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Like every performing arts venue in town, the Magic Castle Cabaret has been closed since March as even private club prestidigitation has been rendered powerless by the pandemic. But the charming year-old establishment that serves as the local Santa Barbara-Montecito offshoot to the famed Castle in Hollywood co-founded by Milt Larsen in the early 1960s […]
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On January 9, 2018, Ken Grand went through the kind of hell most of us could never even imagine. That was the night that a torrential downpour resulted in the infamous Montecito mudslides and debris flow that killed 23 people. Among the casualties was Grand’s wife, Rebecca Riskin, the popular professional ballerina turned realtor whose […]
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It’s no secret that California’s Central Coast is a renowned wine destination, and one of the region’s greats is Daou Vineyards in Paso Robles. Its home on Daou Mountain has an extraordinary phenolic output – among the highest in the world – that yields rich, precision-based wines of prodigious color, texture, and structure. One of […]
Lea másStep into the al fresco dining area at Coast & Olive, the new California-style brasserie that recently opened at the historic Montecito Inn, and you get a sense of its history. The hotel, built by silent film star Charlie Chaplin in 1928, has been a beacon of hospitality for nearly a century with its Spanish […]
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Monday morning at 6 am, a crowd of 30 gathered at a church in Santa Barbara’s Eastside to perform a homeless census count. This is part of the Hands Across Montecito Project, started by the Montecito Association in response to concerns of large encampments growing along the tracks, encounters on Coast Village, thefts, and fires. […]
Lea másCold Spring School Needs New Classrooms As a longtime parent at Cold Spring School, I can attest to the fact that the three portables installed 25 years ago are falling apart. While I do agree that the school needs these classrooms replaced, I do not agree that the $7.8 million Bond L2020 plan to construct […]
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Montecito Deli celebrated 19 years on Friday, September 11, on Coast Village Road. The deli has stayed open throughout the lockdown to keep its regulars and new customers going, with takeout or outdoor patio dining. “Our menu is the same as it’s always been – create it and we will make it,” said owner Jeff […]
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Normally a designation as a red zone would mean no parking or even stopping. But when it comes to pandemic procedures, the designation is more like rolling out a red carpet, as two weeks of reduced cases means more businesses can reopen. Accordingly, Metropolitan Theatres plans to welcome back moviegoers at two of the Santa […]
Lea másI don’t often meet other people with the name Stella. So not only was it surprising for me when I was put in touch with the author of today’s letter, but it was doubly interesting to learn that this Stella had also dipped her toe into the waters of journalism. Two Stellas, same industry? Stanley […]
Lea másYou know that high stress levels aren’t healthy. You can feel it. Instead of being relaxed and steady, you’re uptight and agitated. It’s hard to focus; it’s hard to sleep. Just Googling “stress” turns out to be, well, stressful. Unfortunately, news sources tell us that things aren’t going to let up anytime soon. So, what […]
Lea másAn award-winning, published landscape designer, with over two decades of experience, Alida is well known for designing new gardens, as well as restoring landmark gardens throughout Montecito and Santa Barbara. In the spring of 2021, Alida will be teaching a class in The Principals of Landscape Design through Santa Barbara City College. Between masks, fires, […]
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