Nearly 200 Santa Barbara and Montecito residents gathered downtown Tuesday to celebrate the swearing-in of new Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse. The outdoor ceremony, which would normally take place within City Hall, also touched on the work of outgoing Mayor Cathy Murillo, and served to also swear in council members Kristen Sneddon – who represents, […]
Lea másThe Montecito Association (MA) Board of Directors held its annual meeting this week, appointing new board members and saying goodbye to several retiring board members, as well as reviewing the Association’s activities in 2021. Association president Megan Orloff and executive director Sharon Byrne reported on Association activities for the past year, which included extensive pandemic […]
Lea másAs we step into 2022, Montecito Fire would like to share with the community our 2021 Annual Report. In it, we detail our successes and challenges in all aspects of our organization, from day-to-day operations to wildfire prevention work and community engagement. We encourage you to learn more about your Montecito Fire Department by reading […]
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I was sitting patiently on a hillside within Scorpion Canyon on Santa Cruz Island, the most biodiverse isle in the Channel Islands National Park. It was mid-morning, and all was quiet in early November 2021. It was dry and warm, and the deer flies were having their way with me, as I overlooked a fruitful […]
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On January 9, a community-building memorial was held across Montecito to remember and honor the victims and survivors of the 1/9 Debris Flow. A partnership between the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade, Montecito Association, Montecito Fire Protection District, and Westmont organized the event — and it followed the template the organizations created in 2021, for safety […]
Lea másLife would be very empty, if we had nothing to regret. The most celebrated song of Edith Piaf, France’s most famous singer-songwriter, was “Non, je ne regrette rien” (“No, I regret nothing”). But sadly, she had plenty to regret, dying in 1963 aged only 47, after many years of alcohol and drug abuse. Does the […]
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On January 8, more than 80 town residents of all ages came to volunteer to provide a much-needed loving hand to Ramiro ‘Beto’ Arroyo, Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation supervisor, and his team, along with Master Rosarian Dan Bifano and the Santa Barbara Rose Society President Bud Jones and wife, Kay, to do the annual […]
Lea másThere’s a Montecito mom who is challenging Montecitans of all ages to reclaim their health and wellness with her new wellness center in the Upper Village. You need to see Talina Hermann before you get sick — it’s a novel idea to most, but for Hermann, it’s the smarter and better way to take care […]
Lea másTickets for the unprecedented and thrilling three-concert residency of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) with the Music Academy of the West this March go on sale Monday, January 18. The divergent programs under the leadership of LSO Music Director Sir Simon Rattle culminates on March 27 with a community concert featuring 39 MAW alumni playing […]
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Actress Jisel Soleil Ayon never suspected the casting directors were considering her for the lead role of Jenna when she auditioned for a part as a member of the ensemble for the musical Waitress last year. “I went through the entire process, from Zoom to my last call back in person, thinking I might at […]
Lea másI’ve lived in Santa Barbara and Summerland for nearly 50 years and while I love our community, the continued lack of transparency needs to end. The current gas station remodeling in Summerland is a microcosm of the darkness that shrouds many County-decisions. More importantly, it demonstrates how our 1,500-person community is being run: In the […]
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All of the five virtuoso string musicians who comprise the Grammy-winning folk-grass band Punch Brothers were fervent fans of Tony Rice. The Brothers – who are led by the MacArthur “Genius Grant’ Award fellow Chris Thile on mandolin and includes bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Chris Eldridge, banjoist Noam Pikelny, and violinist Gabe Witcher – have […]
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The Santa Barbara coastal region has largely escaped any major disasters in the past year, save, of course, for the ongoing crisis with COVID-19. There haven’t been any major fires striking between Carpinteria and western Goleta, and no serious flooding despite the recent record-setting string of rainstorms. On the other hand, some folks out by […]
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Instruction returned to campuses throughout Santa Barbara Unified School District on January 3, with a flurry of communications helping both staff and students navigate an expected rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the area. Superintendent Hilda Maldonado delivered a message to the district on January 3 that provided clarification on health protocols, as well as some […]
Lea más“Blasting off” is an expression which, only in recent years, has come to have a very special meaning. We are no longer talking about fireworks or even firearms, but about sending live human beings into what were once called “The Heavens” (as if there were more than one Heaven) but have now been relegated to […]
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The United Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara County, the North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center, and the Technology in Schools Program each received $40,000 as part of the 2021 Chumash Charity Golf Classic at Alisal River Course in Solvang. The tournament returned after a one-year hiatus, with proceeds aiding funding for […]
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Santa Barbara Symphony returned to its popular New Year’s Eve tradition at the Granada to dazzle the audience with the music of Gershwin, movie classics, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Motown, Broadway, and other celebratory symphonic favorites while donning party hats and quaffing champagne. Regular Pops conductor Bob Bernhardt, celebrating his 40th anniversary with the Louisville Orchestra, […]
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Opera soprano Jana McIntyre’s first public performance as a singer came at age five right here in Montecito. Except she wasn’t supposed to be singing. “We had to recite poems at our graduation at Crane,” said McIntyre, recalling her first year at Crane Country Day School, the K-8 school where academic challenge is balanced with […]
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Sin City has never seen anything like it! Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry unleashed her considerable talents with the debut of her three-month residency at the Conrad, a 59-story red 1,496-room monolith, part of the new Resorts World $4.3 billion complex of three tony hostelries with a total of 3,506 rooms and a 117,000-square-foot casino […]
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There’s a plethora of a cappella singing groups at Yale, the Ivy League School known for theater and music as much as the liberal arts. “I think there’s 16, including four all-male,” said Jacob Wu, the current tour manager and a bass singer for Baker’s Dozen (BD), which despite its name actually boasts 16 singers. […]
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