We’ve worked with California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on a number of fronts: homeowner’s insurance (and the lack of it in California), claims, legislation, and preparedness. Last week, he hosted quite the townhall on emergency preparedness, as part of the partnership the Department of Insurance has with the Governor’s emergency response and readiness agencies. We’ve […]
Lea másMost people want to compartmentalize everything. For example, I am a Democratic, Republican, Independent, or even a Green Party person. More examples would be I am a liberal or a conservative. I saw an interview with the actor Woody Harrelson. A good ole Texas boy. He described himself as a Redneck hippie. After careful consideration […]
Lea más
Purple reigned at CADA’s 35th annual Amethyst Ball: Romance in Rio at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum with 230 glamorously garbed, masked, and befeathered guests raising in excess of $300,000 for the 73-year-old nonprofit that fights alcoholism and drug abuse and has served more than 18,000 addicted youth and adults in that time. Emceed by […]
Lea más
The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission had a delightful change of venue for its 21st annual Road Trip to the Bayou with a move to the beach at Rancho Dos Pueblos rather than the main residence, which was being used as a set for a TV show. More than 350 guests turned out for the sandy […]
Lea más
The venerable Granada Theatre was almost packed to overflowing when Opera Santa Barbara staged a magnificent version of Puccini’s beloved masterpiece Tosca. Artistic director Kostis Protopapas conducted the orchestra on stage while stage director Layna Chianakas managed the complexities of the spartan production with film and still images superbly. Greek soprano Eleni Calenos excelled as […]
Lea más
Gordon Guy, the late Executive Director of New House, a 67-year-old charity which has helped more than 25,000 men suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, was honored at the sixth annual Heart of New House lunch at the Hilton with 200 guests raising around $75,000 for the organization. Gordon died earlier this year after a […]
Lea más
Picturesque Godric Grove in Elings Park was the venue for the Santa Barbara Education Foundation’s second annual Love of Literacy lunch with 130 guests raising more than $30,000 for the cause. Keynote speaker, county supervisor Gregg Hart, whose mother was a teacher and father a librarian, expressed his love of literature, reading 60 books during […]
Lea más
Santa Barbara Museum of Art was socially gridlocked when it launched its latest exhibition, The Architecture of Collage: Marshall Brown. The comprehensive presentation includes 24 artworks, including six recent acquisitions by SBMA, loans from the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, and a private collector. In addition, an original etching […]
Lea másWe knew Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree as the “Philanthropist of Santa Barbara.” As we lay her to rest, her presence in our city will continue as we pass by the many buildings and plaques that carry her name: The Ridley-Tree Cancer Center at Sansum Clinic, the Ridley-Tree Education Center at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, […]
Lea más
There are a number of reading programs for students in Santa Barbara, including several administered by nonprofits. Tina Hansen McEnroe is absolutely clear about what makes the McEnroe Reading and Language Arts Clinic at the Gevirtz School at the University of California, Santa Barbara, stand out from all the rest. “How are we different? It’s […]
Lea másNew life motto: devour everything Vicky Krieps is in. You only need to see Mathieu Amalric’s most recent movie, Hold Me Tight, to adopt this new rule for yourself. And if Amalric’s name doesn’t ring a bell, his face will surely make you go “Oh yeah! That guy!” He was a Bond villain, after all. […]
Lea másAs an advisor to four U.S. Presidents, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, David Gergen had a front row seat to the highest levels of power and leadership in this country. As an editor for U.S. News and World Report, and a commentator on PBS and CNN, Mr. Gergen became a steady and rational voice on […]
Lea másNelson Huber came here for one purpose: To make music. For him, music was a sacrament capable of healing us and lifting us out of the ordinary and into the sublime. The term sui generis – in a class by himself – does not even begin to describe him. He tells the story of his […]
Lea másContrary to what someone might think, a cardiologist does not collect cards – not even such collectibles as those my little Company produces. The word comes from the Greek kardia, meaning “heart,” which has given us such spin-offs as “cordial,” and the French and Spanish “Coeur,” and “Corazón.” Where I live, there is a local […]
Lea másHappy new school year! From interviewing people for this column, I have learned a lot about what it means to be a young person, and I have learned a lot of what it means to be a student. In honor of the new academic year, this edition of Dear Montecito is for the new college […]
Lea más
A saw-whet owl, that is. Sometimes they keep me up at night, and gratefully so. That repetitive too-too-too sounding off two notes per second at the same pitch for up to 25 whistles in a row before taking a slight break. Then those tiny, nocturnal saw-whets are back at it again teasing me with their […]
Lea más
Ginger Salazar and Katina Zaninovich were honored as the Santa Barbara Foundation Persons of the Year 2022 at a luncheon on Wednesday, September 21, at the Santa Barbara Hilton. Both women were enthusiastically welcomed and congratulated by the attendees as they each spoke about their work in the community via a video presentation, and again […]
Lea másIn Mark Hunt’s article “Ins and Outs: Montecito and Her Many Special Neighborhoods” (Real Estate Issue, August 4, 2022), he correctly states not all homes in 93108 are within Montecito, or either of its two school or special districts. Many Eucalyptus Hill homes are in the City of Santa Barbara. Eucalyptus Hill Improvement Association (EHIA) […]
Lea másCalifornia, which already ranks dead last in Chief Executive’s “Best and Worst States for Business,” just took another giant leap backward. On Labor Day, September 9, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law, a new,deceptively named “Fast Food Recovery Act.” This legislation has nothing to do with fast-food recovery. Instead, once again, the government […]
Lea más