Just weeks after announcing the addition of a rare baby Amur leopard named Marta, the Santa Barbara Zoo has announced that both of its endangered female giraffes are pregnant. Adia is due in January 2022 and Audrey is expected to give birth in July 2022. Michael, the Zoo’s adult male, is the sire of both. […]

A recent Friday afternoon stroll down Cabrillo Boulevard brought about a sight that hasn’t been seen in more than 18 months — the Santa Barbara City College football team getting in an afternoon practice at the recently refurbished La Playa Stadium. With SBCC Athletics shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic since the spring of 2020, […]

Dingle is a quiet port town along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, a little cove for some 2,050 people best known for its resident dolphin, Fungie. But on this particular night in 2005, it was another fun guy that captured the hearts of locals and the dozens of Santa Barbarans that had made the trek to […]

After months of back-and-forth stemming from ongoing concerns over what some claim is a stench of cannabis throughout Carpinteria Valley, the Santa Barbara Coalition of Responsible Cannabis and CARP (Cannabis Association for Responsible Producers) Growers have struck a deal to “resolve odor issues in a proactive and cooperative way” across the valley. According to a […]

For a local cancer patient, the alarm bells rang loudly — while recovering from an outpatient surgery at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, she received a call. A member of the patient’s medical treatment team had tested positive for COVID-19. The patient has been unable to get vaccinated due to their ongoing treatment. Already dozens of […]

On Tuesday, the bulk of Santa Barbara County snapped “first day” photos for Facebook and returned to the gnarly drop-off lines at area schools — but the cloud of uncertainty surrounding the longevity of in-person instruction remains. With the COVID-19 Delta variant creating disruption at hospitals around the state, local school districts are having to […]

Less than a year since the Santa Barbara Zoo welcomed a baby lion, the nonprofit has added a new member to the family, Marta, a 517-gram Amur leopard born on August 6 — the first birth for this endangered species in more than 20 years at the zoo. Much like Pauline the lion, Marta will […]

For Kandy Luria-Budgor, it was like looking at a very good-looking person, only to see them wearing the wrong clothes. So, she and dozens of other donors did something about it. And now the Santa Barbara Museum of Art looks glorious — both outside and inside. “The museum it was didn’t fit the scholarly and […]

With fire safety and the state of small business as key issues, the race for the District 4 seat on Santa Barbara City Council is officially set. It’ll be incumbent Kristen Sneddon against challenger Barrett Reed, with the filing deadline having expired on August 6. Sneddon says she is focused on showcasing what she has […]

That look? That’s Marc Gelinas smiling from ear to ear — and he has plenty of windows to check out his pearly whites at his new digs on East Valley Road in the Upper Village. It’s the perfect space to not only promote his flourishing interior design business, but also his budding career as an […]

Over the past 18 months, the world has been put on its axis, not knowing which way it would spin due to a health crisis that is not only deadly, but unpredictable. But it has done one thing — it’s emphasized the importance of having a place to call home. Whether it be a studio […]

The 101 is synonymous with a need for patience, particularly along the South Coast corridor. But for Jennifer Cheyne, that trip up the coast from Los Angeles was one she treasured each and every time — after all, the destination was Montecito, which was quickly becoming a home away from home. “Who wouldn’t want to […]

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Former Cate School Teacher, Under Investigation for Sexual Misconduct Here, is Arrested in Colorado for Sexual Assault

Elizabeth Rodrigues understands the angst of what amateur athletes around the world have felt for the past 18 months — particularly those who would partake in a triathlon that tests every aspect of an athlete’s will. Working out in the garage just isn’t the same. So, forgive her if she’s a bit energetic about the […]

After 61 years, Gil Rosas will return to the El Paseo Restaurant    on August 8 to recreate a photo made in 1960, helping the Profant Foundation host the Fiesta Finale Gala that has created hundreds of scholarships for artists of all ages over the past 21 years. The gala, organized by Musette Profant, includes […]

With COVID freedom has come a return of hugging friends — or maybe strangers — and gathering at breathtaking art exhibits. Or maybe you’ve celebrated by buying a ticket to a comedy show at the Santa Barbara Bowl, a nice treat for anyone that participates in the Santa Barbara Triathlon at the end of August […]

Mike Cregan will be the first to admit that there have been sleepless nights over the past 15 months; that’s what happens when one’s big idea is launched just prior to a global pandemic. Built on the concept of bringing together various artistic communities in one place, lockdowns and health protocols aren’t the easiest obstacles […]

For roughly 1,225 days, Kim Cantin didn’t have answers. A mother searching for her first born. Her 17-year-old Eagle Scout was missing amid the catastrophic Montecito Debris Flow of January 9, 2018. Other deceased were found. But not Jack, not her kind-hearted, gentle soul of a young man. But in late May of this year, […]

Quickly look around your workplace — or your morning Zoom call — and there’s likely 10 people. One of those folks will get a kidney stone at some point in their lives, according to researchers. And that number is seemingly growing, with the rate in the United States shifting from 3.8% in the late 1970s […]

A deep dive into real estate’s incredible first half of 2021, and the trends it has kickstarted in Montecito

Wendy Ward Hoffer kept her secret for nearly 35 years, recently revealing she was sexually abused by a faculty member during her sophomore and junior years at Carpinteria’s Cate School (1984-86), describing herself as a 15-year-old torn between trying to win the support of her teacher and the ongoing fear of what would happen if […]

The seemingly revolving chair that is the top job at Santa Barbara City College is turning over yet again — the latest presidential resignation a partial byproduct of ongoing disagreements over COVID protocols as the school sets to reopen August 23. In an abrupt announcement after a Board of Trustees special meeting on July 12, […]

Christina Broderick has been receiving plenty of congratulatory calls from her predecessors at Marymount Santa Barbara — er, The Riviera Ridge School (RRS). After years of discussion, the K-8 private school on Santa Barbara’s Riviera — which serves roughly 20-25 students from Montecito per year — has a new brand for the 2021-22 school year, […]

“I’ve never seen it like this. Business has never been better.” That’s quite the statement from Hiroko Benko, the CEO of the Condor Express, the booming whale-watching outfit that takes daily trips into the Santa Barbara Channel to give locals and tourists a glimpse at nearly every species of whale, as well as dolphins, seals, […]

So, who’s throwing the baby shower? The Santa Barbara Zoo announced that Ajax, a female Amur leopard, is pregnant — the first time for the critically endangered species in more than 20 years for the Zoo. As the most endangered of all big cats, the conservation efforts are critical, so this news sent positive shockwaves […]

Cate School is mired in two investigations of alleged sexual abuse and harassment, with victims stepping forward and claiming the school has tolerated misogyny and sexual misconduct for decades. Our Nick Masuda talked with alumni and current students that say they are speaking out in order to enact change at all levels. See the full […]

With housing opportunities limited in Santa Barbara, some 60,000 people — or 33% of the county’s workforce — commute from neighboring counties to work here. Lauren Bianchi Klemann has been there, rising before the sun, dropping off her infant daughter at daycare, and hitching a ride with her husband to work — knowing that she […]

For Sigrid Wright, she can’t help the fleeting thoughts that she has as she drives down the 101 toward Ventura, and it has nothing to do with the anger-inducing traffic caused by endless construction. She wonders if the roadway will even be visible in 10 or 20 years. What will the impacts of climate change […]

In Santa Barbara, Summer Solstice is synonymous with a vibrant parade down State Street, with music blaring and feet moving to the beat. But that’s not the only impactful event in town — the Alzheimer’s Association has hosted “The Longest Day” in each of the last seven years. The day is a combination of a […]

With just three full-time employees left, Cindy Faith Swain couldn’t help but have a little bounce in her step as some three dozen community members entered the gates at La Casa de Maria on June 24. The facility’s director bounced from group to group as guests grabbed a name badge and talked about yesteryear at […]

Kim Cantin remembers a time when her hard-working husband, Dave, would jet back from an international trip to make sure he didn’t miss a Troop 33 meeting — not only to join his son, Jack, but also because he understood that showing up was a needed lesson for impressionable youngsters. “He refused to miss it, […]

La Casa de Maria has stayed dormant since the Montecito Debris Flow. The organization has chosen to learn more about the land before redeveloping. More than three years later, it has a plan and a potential reopening date. Cindy Faith Swain peeks through a chain-linked fence that was once completely unnecessary, as separation from San Ysidro […]

It was a late afternoon in early 2017 and Jonathan Fox was en route to a pre-dinner cocktail with Lee Luria, the philanthropist extraordinaire that had just given Fox’s Ensemble Theatre Company a new lease on life — quite literally. With her favorite gin and tonic at her side and Fox acquiring a glass of […]

“Improbable, but not impossible.” It became a rallying cry that the Foothills Forever campaign team leaned on since February 25, the day a lawsuit was negotiated to allow the community to rise and purchase 101 acres on the West Mesa of the San Marcos Foothills. Ninety days. $18 million. Quite improbable, but activists such as […]

It isn’t supposed to work this way. Raising just under $18 million in 83 days is foolhardy, a pseudo pipe dream. And Bob Bason would know a thing or two about lofty fundraising goals, having worked as a capital campaign consultant to charities and nonprofits all over the United States — including yeoman’s work at […]