D. William (Bill) Wagner, 78, passed December 7, 2021, at home in Santa Barbara, surrounded by his wife and sons. Bill was born to Earl and Lois Wagner in Dixon, Illinois, and raised in Sterling, Illinois. A lifelong love of language and people led him from consecutive statewide debate championships for Illinois in 1960 and […]

One of Santa Barbara’s premier tourist attractions, the Santa Barbara Arts and Crafts Show, every Sunday along Cabrillo Boulevard at the beach for more than 50 years, has had a facelift. Besides the recent remodeling of the bridge and sidewalks, the show is now integrated, no longer separating the arts from the crafts. Now is […]

Dear Mr. Brutoco, You certainly are an inventive person. You begin your “perspectives” column early by whining that the defense counsel for acquitted shooter Kyle Rittenhouse was “allowed” to refer to the two men killed by Mr. Rittenhouse as “rioters and looters,” and then claim, “they weren’t.” Do you have some secret knowledge as to […]

This past year has been really tough (COVID-19, inflation, supply chain problems, etc.). However, when things get tough, it is exactly when we need to give thanks. Our Founding Fathers and great leaders understood that giving thanks and expressing gratitude matters in the face of adversity. It gives us hope, emotionally. Giving thanks for what […]

We may look at circumstances in our society and wonder how our leaders could be so inept as to let those happen. Immigration chaos, the 2008 financial crisis and widening entitlements to name a few. Perusing the Democrat Party tactics initiated in the 1960s by Columbia University professors Richard Cloward and Frances Piven can clear […]

On November 11, the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation and the Santa Barbara VFW Post 1649 hosted hundreds at the Santa Barbara Cemetery to honor those who have served in the U.S. military. The morning kicked off with a performance by the Gold Coast Pipe Band, with the likes of Pablo Paredes (Army), Lieutenant John W. […]

On Rinaldo Brutoco’s essay this week on the idea of red states and blue states: I like how he analyzed the question. The only problem with whole states going red or blue: every state has a ratio of each. Would such a divide then require that all “blue” persons living in a “red” state move […]

Dennis McFadden, a respected architect and member of UCSB’s Design Review Committee, has resigned from the Committee in protest over the university’s proposed Munger Hall dormitory project.  As a long-time Santa Barbara architect, community resident, and fan of UCSB, I am writing to add my objections to the Munger Hall “Mega Dorm” currently proposed for […]

MIT’s earth, atmospheric sciences department just cancelled a lecturer on climate because the speaker, at another venue and on a different subject, expressed an opinion arguing that universities are too obsessed with “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or DEI “which threatens to derail their primary mission: the production and dissemination of knowledge.” That cancellation actually proved […]

I found myself truly saddened by the article in the Montecito Journal regarding the Montecito Motor Classic — which is an emotional response that I’m sure few, if any, also experienced. And I have a question for the owners of these cars, to which I honestly and sincerely crave an answer. What is the professed […]

Dear Mr. Rosenfield, I’m writing to ask you to please reconsider renewing the lease for Little Alex’s. Your website says the “Montecito Country Mart is a place for the entire family and the best way to experience Montecito — as a local would.” So please let’s keep a very local and beloved place open for […]

What a joy to return in late summer to my home in Montecito and discover the newly constructed, protected walking path along Hot Springs Road. Twenty years ago, when my husband and I first came, we often walked cautiously up to East Valley Road and back, hoping for safety from passing vehicles. Thanks now to […]

I am reading Bob Hazard’s series on our water crisis with great interest. He is a strong writer and does his research, but I think there are instances in which he is cherry-picking the data. In his first piece, he mentions that 5% of California water is used for outdoor residential purposes. That may be […]

One805 has come roaring back from lockdown with a perfectly executed, sold-out event that was the perfect combination of class, emotion, and world-class entertainment. The One805 Live! event held this Saturday at the stunning Winn-Twining estate, featuring Danny Seraphine of Chicago and Robby Krieger of the Doors, was a knockout success. Strict COVID protocols at […]

It’s distressing that in 2021, five years after Prop 64, that we have individuals pushing the same fear mongering about cannabis we all learned growing up with Reefer Madness. Today it’s Jana Zimmer and the writers of the Montecito Journal, along with a small number of neighbors in Carpinteria allege that the County of Santa […]

It’s about time that we understand that living in a culturally diverse world means that we are also living in and with multiple calendars and structures of time. Philosophers in the 20th century came to understand that time was the most essential dimension of human life. It would not be inaccurate to say that time […]

The following is courtesy of Jordan Killebrew & Kara Shoemaker of the Santa Barbara Foundation: Everyone has a story. At birth, many stories begin with a promise for a bright and happy future. But what if you are born into challenging circumstances? What if you are immediately plunged into a world of poverty, homelessness, and […]

Congratulations and a big thank you to all of those (whose many names are too numerous to list here) who worked so hard to get the Hot Springs Neighborhood Trail completed. We have lots of wonderful hiking trails in our local hills and mountains, but safe paths through our community are sorely lacking.  Let’s hope […]

Ready to rock ‘n’ roll for a good cause? Join The Santa Barbara Firefighters Alliance and One805, the local nonprofit that brought us the 2018 Kick Ash Bash, for a donor appreciation event to support our First Responders currently on the frontlines of California’s wildfires. Special guests include Robby Krieger of The Doors and top […]

I’m grateful for Gwyn Lurie’s “Candid Condescension” in calling Ed St. George out for his condescending, patronizing attack on City Councilwoman Meagan Harmon. St. George felt entitled to tell Councilmember Harmon that she should be focusing on her children and husband rather than serving in public office and working. Really? It’s 2021 and we still […]

RE: Ed St. George vs. Meagan Harmon (from the Montecito Journal on August 12, 2021)  Frankly to me her personal workload seems a little nuts. Lawyer, councilperson, Coastal Commission czar, wife, mother, and now feminist icon. Fortunately for Ms. Harmon her current endeavors are highly subjective and success, failure, or even competence cannot be judged […]

The lodgings pictured on the Aug.5-12 Montecito Journal cover convey the “Dream Market” with gigantic accuracy. It was a good issue — the pieces on “pigmobiles” and failing wells helping to sober the frothing real estate euphoria. Having come to Montecito in 1952, I was moved by nostalgia, vexation, and a healthy sense of embarrassment. […]

The Tajiguas landfill will be able to cut the trash that goes into the landfill. Only about 15% of what gets tossed out will go to waste. The other 85% or so will be turned into energy. Enough energy to supply about 3,000 homes and the landfill’s operations.  In this case the technology has caught […]

The following is an open letter to the Coast Village Association and the property owners of the Country Mart and Starbucks strip:  We need you to step up now and help your businesses and customers stop enabling homelessness. Help us solve it instead.   We are writing to you as Montecito residents and founding members of […]

Am I the only one noticing the dangerous speeds that e-bikes and riders who push them to their limits pose to drivers and themselves in and around Montecito? They seem to zip around as fast as motorcycles, yet no special license is required. It’s great that more people are getting outdoors and traveling farther afield […]

To the Mayor, City Council Members: 4th of July my family and I took a walk down upper State Street in Santa Barbara. As we walked, we had concerns about the planning by the city to provide a safe sidewalk. We also wondered if there would ever be another parade down State Street. The heritage of […]

The recent news of the shameful episodes of past sexual abuse at Thacher School is deeply troubling. The perpetrators should be pursued, prosecuted where possible and never again be allowed contact, in any capacity, with young people. In the strongest terms, I condemn them as well as those who covered up these egregious incidents, and […]

Carlos, The Bear, reclined in his reading chair listening to Tom Petty. He was flipping through last year’s 4th of July Car Roadshow photos he took with his old iPhone. This year everything will be better, he thought. No lockdown, masks not mandatory and people out everywhere trying to get back into the swing of […]

It is with great sadness that the family announces the passing of Rosemary Phyllis Looney after a brief illness. She was born in Norwood, Massachusetts, on December 20, 1926, and passed at home in Carpinteria on June 8, 2021.  She is survived by her daughters Sharyn Plunkett (Richard) and Sheryl Ford of Carpinteria, and Cynthia […]

Mayor and Councilmembers, You have an agenda item coming up June 22, agenda item No. 16, that could remove parklets in July, or impose onerous modifications on them. Please avoid doing this. It is the most business unfriendly thing you could do right now. Thanks to the quick actions of Anthony Wagner, and the blessing […]

Charles Lowell Ward, Jr., passed away peacefully on June 15, 2021, from complications of heart disease. The Houston native was preceded in death by parents Judy and Charles Ward, Sr., as well as brother Jeffrey S. Ward, Sr. He leaves behind nephew, Jeffrey S. Ward, Jr., grandnephews Tyler, Mason and Braden, and longtime business ally, […]

I am troubled by the apparent conflicts-of-interest by attorney Marc Chytilo involving his lobbying for a major cannabis grower and Foothills Forever.  The latter is a large community philanthropic effort involving the pro bono efforts of many attorneys, but one that Mr. Chytilo seeks primary credit. Last Wednesday, many in the First District were left […]

The public’s right to use and enjoy Los Padres National Park and a number of its trails has little meaning when the public has no practical means of accessing Hot Springs Trail and others. Conflicts arise between private landowners and the general public who wish to enjoy wilderness areas that are not accessible without parking […]

In last week’s issue, Gwyn Lurie’s “Editor’s Letter” decries what she calls “incendiary language” in my recent column, calling it a “mistake” to have even printed it in the first place. I re-read it and though found it somewhat provocative, I believe that at no time does it reach the incendiary stage (450 degrees Fahrenheit, […]

The following video was produced to raise funds for members of the Santa Barbara High School community who are food or housing insecure and could use a little help from their friends.

Upon reading Jim Buckley’s OpEd piece in the recent Montecito Journal issue regarding voter fraud I was filled with surprise at its publication, appalled by its content, and appreciation that the MJ printed it. I would remind Mr. Buckley that the courts, election officials, and the Attorney General, many of whom were appointed by the […]

On May 17, 2021, a car was parked on Mountain Drive near the corner of East Mountain Drive and Hot Springs Road. It was barely sticking into the road, less than other hikers’ cars further west, near Ashley Road. A note was placed on it which said, “Park here again and you will be towed […]

After receiving his second shot of Pfizer COVID vaccine, Carlos the Bear was relaxing in his den reading the Montecito Association’s most current email blast. He was eating some tasty takeaway from Pane e Vino and saw that a Town Hall Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 19 at 5:30 pm, regarding his troublesome […]

Clarification A Community Voices column in the April 29-May 6 edition entitled, Despite Recent Narrative Cold Spring School Deserves Community’s Support, was written by a group of community members and not a single author. Cold Spring School: Time to Pony Up Legal Docs I truly cannot understand all the controversy surrounding the issue at Cold […]