Liani Kotcher is kind of a powerhouse. Not only has she written three novels under the pen name Rektok Ross, but she once practiced law, too. That’s right. She’s an author and a lawyer. And her latest book Ski Weekend launched last fall to five-star reviews. How dope is that? Even more dope is that […]
Lea más
Singer-songwriter Americana roots-rocker Jason Isbell has won four Grammy Awards since separating from the Drive-By Truckers, and with his band 400 Unit represents some of the best of Southern rock music today. But the opening act for the concert at the Arlington Theatre on February 26 isn’t far behind. Thirty-three years into her career, it […]
Lea más
If the name CommUnify doesn’t ring a bell, Patricia Keelean, the nonprofit’s chief executive officer, thinks she knows why. “We are our own best-kept secret,” Keelean said. There’s a good reason for that – CommUnify is actually the new DBA for what used to be called the Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County – […]
Lea más
It’s been a very long time, or perhaps ever, since Santa Barbara has eagerly anticipated an exhibition as exciting as “Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources,” a landmark show that launches February 27 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The exhibition boasts 20 works of art by the Dutch master from his […]
Lea másDeAnna peacefully passed on the morning of January 30. Her partner of 18 years, Michaela Morgan, was by her side, and their “baby” fox terrier Chanel was at her feet. I have lost the love of my life… We never talked about her passing as we focused on living and celebrating the daily “wins” no […]
Lea más
An old friend, artist Robyn Geddes, who I knew in Manhattan when he worked for Andy Warhol at The Factory, contacted me after reading my item on the decline of the use of my signature signoff Pip! Pip! Robyn, who is editor of the community newsletter at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club where […]
Lea másMontecito animal activist Gretchen Lieff, founder and president of the Lutah Maria Riggs Society, has been appointed a member of the county’s Historic Landmarks Advisory Commission. The organization was created in 1965 to promote the preservation of historic buildings and structures. “The county has such a rich history of architectural protection and preservation,” says Gretchen. […]
Lea másFamed photographer and guru to students of the craft, Ansel Adams, is being celebrated at the Wildling Museum of Art & Nature in Solvang with an exhibit curated and hand printed by his former assistant and Master Photographer, Alan Ross, who, for the first time is showing his photographs side by side with Ansel’s at […]
Lea más
I reconnected with showbiz vets James Widdoes and Tim Matheson on the passing of Ivan Reitman, the prolific director and producer and founder of the wildly successful production company The Montecito Picture Company. All four of us (including Reitman) are connected through the National Lampoon, a magazine where I was once editor but which has […]
Lea másUnique women’s clothing and accessory boutique Juniper is tucked between Sakana and Occhiali in Coast Village Walk, with owner Marie Ferris offering an array of luxury clothing lines not found in other stores. “I love pieces that are unexpected and unique,” Ferris told us during a recent visit to the shop. “My style is soft […]
Lea másKCSB-FM 91.9 Santa Barbara, the student-led community radio station located on the UCSB campus, is celebrating its 60th year on air. KCSB is the oldest of all of the University of California radio stations and events are being planned to mark the occasion, including an annual fund drive this month and a programmer reunion in […]
Lea más“My parents don’t work in an office, and they never went through interviews. So they wouldn’t be able to teach me this type of stuff,” says Fatima Lopez. A first generation American and the first in her family to attend college, Fatima reminds me that details such as how to conduct yourself at an interview […]
Lea más
On a personal note, I remember Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, who has died at the age of 75 at his Montecito home, formerly part of the legendary 70-acre El Mirador estate near Westmont College. Reitman first made his mark producing the irreverent college fraternity film National Lampoon’s Animal House with John Belushi in 1978. A […]
Lea másWhy do we like watching the sun set? Is it the beauty of changing colors and shapes? Or is it rather the emotional impact of experiencing the passage of time, the ending of another day of our lives? These two closely interwoven themes, the sad and the beautiful, permeate our culture. Three of my favorite […]
Lea más
One of my favorite places to walk is the Santa Barbara Cemetery. It’s green with gorgeous views and lots of history. It’s the “The Best Last Place” according to David Petry, who wrote an everything you want to know book about the Santa Barbara Cemetery. Many prominent folks and movie stars think so too. Even […]
Lea másIt’s interesting that one person getting water from the Montecito Creek Water Company, Mr. Jon Emanuel, and not the company itself, responded to my letter advocating return of the Montecito hot springs by the ruins (Cliff Spring and Barn Springs) to the people. He claims I said things that are “factually incorrect,” yet he characterizes […]
Lea más
Springtime in Montecito – the hills are green, the weather is beginning to warm, and there’s a new buzz in town. It’s the buzz of a chipping machine shredding cut branches and brush into a million tiny bits. Montecito Fire’s Neighborhood Chipping Program is back for its 13th year. It kicked off on Valentine’s Day […]
Lea más
The Montecito Board of Architectural Review has had a full docket the last few months, hearing over 17 Montecito projects last week at a regular meeting, just one week after needing to call a special meeting in order to consider seven other projects. The next two meetings are already booked with 13-14 projects each, while […]
Lea másIn the political swamp that has ensnared our democratic republic a glimmer of something we haven’t seen for almost six years is on the horizon: the emergence of a fissure in the Republican party, which has lately been in the grips of Mr. Trump’s remarkably single-handed control as it morphed into the Cult of Trump. […]
Lea másIt was towards the end of Black History Month in 2019. Coffee with a Black Guy (CWABG) was hosting our first community conversation in a yearlong collaboration with the Lois and Walter Capps Project (now the Common Table Foundation). More people were gathered for this event than any of the previously convened conversations since launching […]
Lea más