Spring brings two delicious holidays: Passover and Easter. With restaurants moving into the red tier and opening their doors, local chefs are rolling out new menus with unique offerings. Now is the time to savor this forward-thinking season. From a swank steakhouse with a rack of lamb special; to a Scandinavian bakery with buttery pastries; […]
Lea másWe attended the Senate Housing Committee hearing on March 18 and advocated for Montecito on the following bills: •SB15, Sen. Anthony Portantino: This bill allows local cities to replace sales tax lost from closure of big box stores and rezone for affordable housing. Sen. Scott Wiener, who chairs the committee, and is putting forth the […]
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Next Tuesday, March 30, Santa Barbara Unified School District Superintendent Hilda Maldonado will share the status of the district’s schools. The presentation is hosted by the Santa Barbara Education Foundation and sponsored by Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, LogMeIn, UCLA Health, DA Davidson, KBZ Architects, Hohbach-Lewin, Oniracom, and Lazy Acres. The virtual event features […]
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On the last Sunday of every month, the Summerland Post Office parking lot on Lillie Avenue fills up with a cornucopia of flea market and food vendors. Even volunteers from CALM (Child Abuse Listening and Mediation) are onsite to raise funds and awareness of the nonprofit. While parking may be a challenge – “It’s a […]
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To say that the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County has been busy is an understatement – the nonprofit distributed 9,708,944 pounds of food over the course of a year, including some four million-plus pounds of fresh vegetables and fruits. Sounds like a lot, right? Sure, but that’s the year preceding the COVID crisis in California. […]
Lea másBorn and raised in the United States, I have never pledged allegiance to any other flag but ours. This country is my home. I am that person who sings patriotic songs on road trips, and if we’re driving together, there is a high likelihood that, at some point, our windows will be down, and we’ll […]
Lea másThe hustle-bustle of normal life has given way to a slower pace. My appointment book is empty. Social interaction is masked and brief. Even reliable distractions have lost their luster. With so much time for introspection, unresolved issues and negative thoughts are adding to the stress load. Instead of soldiering on, I’m choosing to use […]
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I was in Ms. Balch’s first grade class when Anika Wilson was my Older. Anyone who attended MUS remembers the Olders-Youngers system. This program paired up students from different years, introducing younger students to a new upperclassman friend every year and eventually becoming a mentor to the next generation. I loved this program and remember […]
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Julie Cordero-Lamb is an ethnobotanist and a member of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation. She joined the effort to protect San Marcos Foothills nearly twenty years ago. She has a unique perspective on the site, which is important to her and to the Chumash community. “We have a connection to that place that […]
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Spring seems to be everyone’s favorite season. Temperatures start to rise, Daylight Saving Time begins, and the Vernal Equinox (March 21) brings us more natural Vitamin D. Wildlife keeps its watchful eyes on newborns; leaves appear on deciduous trees, absorbing the carbon dioxide; and flowers and bulbs start to bloom everywhere! If you don’t already […]
Lea másWhen I was first privileged to write this column, I was set a 750-word limit. I knew that I could go a few words over or under, and nobody would care. But I decided to make a game out of turning in exactly 750 words each time. What made this relatively do-able was that, unlike […]
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There’s something new at 1331 State Street: the Thomas Reynolds Gallery near the Arlington Theatre! The Gallery was founded in 1994 in San Francisco in the Pacific Heights neighborhood and was known for contemporary California art and artists. I met with Thomas Reynolds the other day and he said, “I am also an editor-publisher and […]
Lea másAt the very least, travelling will be lot easier and safer with your “soon to be issued” vaccine passport. Crystal Cruises has already announced it will not accommodate any future passengers who cannot provide proof of vaccination at the time of departure. And, even then you also have to provide a current negative COVID-19 test […]
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One year to the day they had to close their doors due to the pandemic, Marymount of Santa Barbara celebrated the resilience of their community with their annual auction gala. The school opened back up for in-person learning in September and the auction’s theme “Magic of the Night” acknowledged how special this was. “We are […]
Lea másAt a Board of Supervisors hearing on Tuesday, Santa Barbara County’s Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso announced that the county, after meeting several decreasing COVID-19 case rate thresholds, would be entering the less restrictive Red Tier outlined in California’s pandemic blueprint. Do-Reynoso reported that COVID-19 case rates have decreased 42% over the last two weeks, […]
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Sadly, we’ll miss the Mad Hatter Luncheon again this year, but the group will make up for it with an online auction April 1 to April 15. That will be on their website: transitionhouse.com. To tease you a little bit, there will be an original 1913 Rose O’Neill Kewpie Doll up for bids. There’s also […]
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History is always in the making. Our actions today become the history of tomorrow. As Chair of the Montecito Association’s History Committee, and through her 50 or so years of community involvement, Trish Davis is helping preserve the history of the area while also helping contribute to it. Trish originally grew up in the San […]
Lea másWe all learned in school that there are eight planets (well, nine if you’re as old as I am), but our solar system is messier than that. There are millions of leftover rocks called asteroids; bits of ice and rock that come and go called comets; and objects out there beyond Neptune called, in dry […]
Lea másI am writing to strongly oppose the appointment of Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams to the Coastal Commission. My personal experience with Supervisor William’s development and oversight of cannabis regulations, in SBC, has demonstrated to me and many others that he has failed to uphold the laws to ‘Protect Public Health, Safety, Welfare and […]
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This winter, public officials asked restaurant owners, workers, and diners to mostly stay home as lockdowns once again took effect. Now that progress is being made with vaccinations going up and COVID-19 cases going down, restaurants are opening up again just in time to unveil spring menus and debut new outdoor dining spaces. That means […]
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