Shpilkes is Yiddish for “pins,” as in “sitting on pins and needles.” The Jewish English Lexicon defines the term more colloquially as “Nervous energy, anxiousness, restlessness.” But for local playwright Barbara Gural, Shpilkes is the Yiddish equivalent of “ants in your pants,” an appropriate title for her new comedy, which was inspired by her close […]
Lea másMonthly Archives: April 2024


Once again, our mayor has taken to the Independent to air his concerns over State Street, and as usual those concerns are at odds with the other council members, the general public, and all available facts and studies. But let me take a step back and talk about something positive. Over the last month, Strong […]
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Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club opens its 113th season on Sunday (May 5) kicking off an action-packed schedule filled with exciting tournaments and events that will showcase some of the world’s most talented equestrians from across the globe. With a record number of teams and players participating at every level, this season is set […]
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Opera Santa Barbara sold out both performances at the Lobero of its highly entertaining show Zorro by Hector Armienta, who wrote both the music and the libretto. The action character, a sort of Spanish Robin Hood, made his debut in a 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano by author Johnston McCulley. The action – with […]
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Local doctor Michael Behrman and his wife Sonia, both foster parents, opened the gates of their picturesque oceanfront Hope Ranch estate for the third consecutive year for Angels Foster Care’s 11th annual al fresco lunch with 270 guests raising around $250,000 for the non-profit founded in 2006 by Meichelle Arntz, who was Mistress of Ceremonies, […]
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It was a very in-tents occasion when a giant marquee covered the Hilton Hotel’s rotunda when the Santa Barbara Foundation held its 81st Persons of the Year lunch, with awards going to Jim Morouse and Peter Schuyler, whose mother Jane Schuyler won the award in 1997, making them the first mother-son duo to be so […]
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What to get the man who pretty much has everything? That was the quandary faced by Montecito Bank & Trust president George Leis when, as chairman of the National YMCA, he had an audience with 87-year-old Pope Francis at the Vatican earlier this month. His Holiness was presented with a book created by Fr Joe […]
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Santa Barbara Symphony wrapped its 71st season on a high note at the Granada with Mahler Meets Klezmer: Titans of Sound. The concert, conducted by veteran maestro Nir Kabaretti, featured Grammy and Juno-nominated clarinet soloist, band leader and composer David Krakauer. The entertaining musical journey started with Mozart’s Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio, […]
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Hospice of Santa Barbara has launched a Legacy of Compassion campaign to coincide with its 50th anniversary. CEO David Selberg announced the campaign, which helps with activities throughout the year, at a Shining Light Society spring reception at its Riviera headquarters, just a tiara’s toss from the Belmond El Encanto. Behavior analyst Rosy Bucio shared […]
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UCSB Arts & Lectures packed the Arlington Theatre on two consecutive nights with jazz legend Herbie Hancock and a very different performance with drag queen RuPaul, who was promoting his new memoir The House of Hidden Meanings. Before 14 Grammy-Award-winner Hancock’s energized show with his extraordinarily talented quintet, a dinner was thrown at Villa & […]
Lea másMeghan Markle’s new Netflix series exhibiting her cookery and gardening skills is not being shot at the Sussex’s Riven Rock estate. But, by sheer coincidence, at the nearby eight-acre estate of old friend Tim and Sherri Cipolla, who split their time between our rarefied enclave and their home in Rancho Palos Verdes, an oceanside development […]
Lea másOn a deeply personal note, I remember Glen Holden, one of three founding members of the Santa Barbara Polo Club, who has moved to more heavenly pastures at the age of 96. Born in Boise, Idaho, Glen grew up on a ranch outside of Portland, Oregon, from the age of six where he developed a […]
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SUNSENDER. There, I said it. Remember the word. It is the fruit of one woman’s search for everyday magic. Merrily Merrily Merrily Merrily. Life is But a Dream. Adrienne Smith and three other women climbed into a fiberglass rowboat under the Golden Gate Bridge, shoved off, and rowed to Honolulu; a largish city in the […]
Lea másA significant number of nonprofits and other organizations have been working to end homelessness in Santa Barbara and across California. PATH has had a jump on nearly all of them, as its mission is built right into its name – which is an acronym for People Assisting the Homeless. PATH started small and simply with […]
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Less than two weeks after everyone’s attention was focused on the solar eclipse, the Westmont Observatory focuses on lunar craters and a red giant Friday, April 19, beginning after sunset at 7:30 pm and lasting several hours. The observatory, home to the powerful Keck Telescope, opens to the public every third Friday of the month […]
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The annual Spring Student Research Symposium features the work of more than 40 student researchers on 23 different posters, and will be held on Thursday, April 18, from 3:30 –5 pm in the Winter Hall Atrium. “I’m looking forward to seeing the work our students have been doing this year,” says Michael Everest, interim […]
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Westmont’s 63rd annual Spring Sing at the Santa Barbara Bowl on April 6 was filled with singing, dancing, acting, and hilarity. Students from each residence hall produced musical skits using the phrase “Out of Order” and competed for prizes and bragging rights. Spring Sing is the college’s longest running tradition and involves more students than […]
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In many ways, Earth Day is every day at Caruso’s. “We have to follow Mother Nature,” insists Executive Chef Massimo Falsini, who recently steered the oceanfront eatery at the Rosewood Miramar Beach toward its first Forbes 5-Star honor. Caruso’s is also the winner of a coveted One Star rating from Michelin, along with a Michelin […]
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“I didn’t always know I wanted to be a doctor. Actually, I hadn’t really considered medicine until my sister was diagnosed,” says 17-year-old Natalie Martinez. Natalie and her family are Carpinteria locals. On the weekend, they enjoy hiking the Franklin Trail and visiting family in Ventura. But their lives were upended when Natalie’s 13-year-old sister, […]
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The ancient activity of laundering has woven itself into our culture in many ways. As an example, there was once a popular catchphrase “no tickee, no washee” which derived from the time when most of the laundry businesses in the U.S., were owned and operated by immigrants from China. Originally it meant that, in order […]
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