Senator Mitt Romney succinctly summarized the events of last Wednesday in one sentence: “What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the President of the United States.” Former President George W. Bush also used “insurrection” to describe the attack on the U.S. Capitol, felt by many to be “the center and sacred symbol of […]
Lea másA lot can be learned from a book, but wisdom and insight are often obtained through life experiences. The elders of a community are naturally the most experienced and have their entire lives to reflect back on the lessons they’ve learned along the way. At a time when we are all looking to remain connected […]
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The Diary of a Teenage Girl is the 2015 comedy-drama that earned writer-director Marielle Heller an Independent Spirit Awards for Best First Feature. The film received a lofty score of 87 from review aggregate Metacritic for its sharp, funny, and provocative account of one girl’s sexual and artistic awakening in 1970s San Francisco, largely told […]
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Three years after Montecito’s devastating debris flows, some memories just won’t fade away Although the mud is gone, and most of the rocks have been either carted away or stacked in piles nearby, the intersection of Hot Springs Road and Olive Mill Road still bears witness to the work that remains to be done before […]
Lea másI used to buy snacks at the Isla Vista Deli Mart even though they were a bit more expensive than the competitors. I went there just to engage the former owner Mike in debate about Donald Trump, whom he supported. (Note that the Deli Mart has new owners who are not Trump supporters.) When Trump would […]
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Montecito’s only coffee plantation, Valley Heart Ranch, spread over 9.5 acres on three parcels, is up for grabs for $14.9 million. The estate, which produced 2,500 pounds of coffee last year, has four bedrooms in the main house for a total of seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, and 4,469 square feet of living space. Other amenities […]
Lea másRetired high tech executive Jan Wesemann is getting priceless publicity in the Wall Street Journal this week as she puts her 20-acre French country-style Montecito estate on the market for $12 million. Jan moved into the 7,600-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bathroom house, built in 2001, 10 years ago and brought up her four daughters on the Park […]
Lea másSurely it can’t be pure coincidence that the number of degrees in a circle is almost exactly the same as the days in a year. (Of course, 360 was more suitable, giving us 4 neat angles of 90 degrees.) But, while we’re on the subject, why do the times a circle’s circumference is bigger than […]
Lea másDear Montecito, Exams are finished. School is out. What’s a girl to do? I could start a political campaign. How hard could that be? All in favor of banishing the word “unprecedented,” say aye. I cleaned my room – that’s a good start. Did some work-related housekeeping too; you may notice I have a new […]
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Nearly nine years after his death, prolific Montecito underwater filmmaker Mike deGruy’s world comes back to life via Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy, the documentary written and directed by his wife and filmmaking partner Mimi Armstrong deGruy. The film doesn’t only cover his underwater life, where deGruy most assuredly blew past […]
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December 29, 2020 started out as just another regular day for the cat-rescue volunteers at Santa Barbara’s Animal Shelter Assistance Program (ASAP), a private nonprofit group that helps the county’s animal control agency find homes for abandoned cats. “We were operating on a very limited scale because of COVID,” said Becky Morrill, ASAP’s shelter operations […]
Lea másSanta Barbara County Long Range Planning Staff is once again hard at work updating local ordinances pertaining to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) that comply with state laws. We’ve been reporting on ADU laws since 2017, when Assembly Bill 2299 and Senate Bill 1069 reduced barriers, streamlined the approval process, and expanded the capacity to accommodate […]
Lea másWhen Skepticism and Humor Become the Perfect Recipe for Artisanal Bread Whenever I hear the name Le Cordon Bleu it reminds me of the time I took a “Savory Nibbles” cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu Paris with my mother-in-law, Marie. After completing the very first step of our course – to crack an egg […]
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It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that to many folks in our community, everyone who works at AHA! could be called a hero. After all, the Santa Barbara nonprofit equips teenagers – and often their teachers and parents – with social and emotional intelligence, using the five pillars of mindfulness, awareness, connection, empathy, and […]
Lea másAn abandoned homeless camp surrounded by trash, bicycle parts, car batteries, flooded tents, and more became an eyesore on the “Graveyards” beach in Montecito, at the base of the cliff below the Santa Barbara Cemetery. In a recent newsletter, Heal the Ocean says they received a call about it from a concerned citizen last week, […]
Lea másOur language has a nice way of softening the meaning of nasty expressions. Take the word “deadline.” There was a time, not too long ago, when a dead-line was a line beyond which, if caught crossing it, you were liable to be killed. This was most applicable in a prison situation, when the captors had […]
Lea másGiven the lockdown, I spent Christmas Day virtually streaming a host of entertaining Santa Barbara events that I was unable to attend, as I have done annually for the past 13 years. Susan Keller’s Santa Barbara Revels Venetian Celebration, taped at the Marjorie Luke Theater, “was as close to a live performance as was possible […]
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Trevor Broudy could be forgiven for thinking he might just be the unluckiest person in Montecito. The Middle Road homeowner’s troubles began early last year, when Bacall, his beloved golden retriever, began to rapidly and inexplicably lose weight. Aside from taking his pet to various veterinarians, Broudy stopped giving Bacall tap water to drink and […]
Lea másSanta Barbara stockbroker and former TV executive Howard Jay Smith is facing the music again! Howard, a member of the board of the Santa Barbara Symphony, wrote his third book, Beethoven in Love; Opus 139: Concerto Quasi Una Fantasia, five years ago, and has now penned a suitable follow-up, Meeting Mozart: From the Secret Diaries […]
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The Montecito Association Land Use Committee met earlier this week, and took a look back at the major land use projects the committee worked on in 2020. “We recognized early on after the debris flow that there would be multiple large scale projects to tackle,” said MA Executive Director Sharon Byrne, adding that the projects […]
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