Tag archives: Cathy Murillo
Four races. Thirteen candidates. We’ll go ahead and shave that to 12, as Eric Friedman is running for Santa Barbara City Council’s District 5 spot unopposed. But that leaves District 4 (Coast Village Road), District 6 (Santa Barbara’s downtown), and mayor (the whole enchilada). These are critical races, responsible for major tourism corridors and the […]
At a hearing on Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council considered modifying aesthetic guidelines related to the outdoor dining in the public right-of-way on State Street, and on parklets in other areas of the city, including Coast Village Road. Many in the community were under the impression that the meeting was to consider removal of […]
On May 4 — a day already close to her heart as a self-proclaimed Star Wars “nerd”— Meagan Harmon did something that many local political pundits didn’t think was possible when she received a call that a handful of other veteran politicos were waiting for. The call was from the governor’s office inviting Harmon to […]
In November, Santa Barbara residents will vote to elect their next mayor. Over the past weeks MJ writer Nick Schou has profiled in these pages the four candidates who have thrown their hats into the mayoral ring to lead Santa Barbara into its next chapter: Incumbent Mayor Cathy Murillo; James Joyce III, founder of Coffee […]
Readers of this column may have noticed that the Montecito Journal has in the past few months published a series of stories highlighting three candidates running for the office of Mayor of Santa Barbara: James Joyce, Deborah Schwartz, and last week, Randy Rowse. Noticeably absent on that list is the mayor herself, Cathy Murillo, who […]
On Monday, March 16, Santa Barbara Interim Police Chief Barney Melekian issued a statement responding to a March 12 Los Angeles Magazine article that raised allegations of corruption and undue influence involving Anthony Wagner, the department’s public information officer, who previously helped run the city’s cannabis dispensary licensing process. Melekian’s announcement stated that he was […]
A new pathway to the historic arts district in downtown Santa Barbara, Plaza Granada, broke ground near the venerable theater. The project, costing nearly $2 million raised from donors and theater board members, will totally transform the parking lot behind the Granada and the pedestrian walkway into a safer, more accessible, and aesthetically pleasing space […]
At a City Council hearing on Tuesday, March 2, the Council voted unanimously to approve an ordinance related to forming a Community Benefit District on Coast Village Road, an initiative set forth by the Coast Village Association Board of Directors. “This is just the beginning, the first starting block,” said CVA Board President Bob Ludwick, […]
It’s sometimes said that Santa Barbara, with its powerful full-time city administrator overseeing more than 1,000 city employees in ten different agencies, tends to leave the mayor as a figurehead, not much more than a glorified seventh city councilmember who happens to represent all constituents rather than those in one district. But don’t tell that […]
Four years ago, James Joyce III began an ambitious project called “Coffee With a Black Guy.” The idea was simple: Using a combination of wit, humor, and blunt honesty, Joyce sought to help Santa Barbara residents engage in a frank dialogue about issues relating to race and politics, both in our community and nationwide. The […]
What many alcoholics need in Santa Barbara is a new house, on a new street, in a new city, for a newfound recovery.” – Elmo Little Elmo was one of the leaders in establishing a rehab place in Santa Barbara. It is called New House and is 64 years old. The idea that alcoholism is […]
Many in Montecito are conflicted. The senseless killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has jarred 100 percent of us into re-examining the fight for equal rights and justice under the law. Unfortunately, while our country attempts to come together in its search for racial justice, a highly visible minority of violent rioters and anarchists has […]
Thousands marched through Santa Barbara once more Sunday, as local high school students united to orchestrate a rally and march against police brutality, as well as present their demands to the Santa Barbara Unified School District and Police Department. “The fuse had been lit years ago,” said Shawn Banks, an assistant boys basketball coach at […]
Gratitude for Gwyn My wife and I have been reading the Montecito Journal with pleasure since Gwyn became CEO and Executive Editor. You have greatly improved the overall editorial content of the paper (which I, for one, seldom read under the editorship of your predecessor) and your Editor’s Letters have been uniformly thoughtful and well […]
Nearly 3,000 protestors marched through downtown Santa Barbara to face the Police Department Sunday, culminating in a blowout between protestors, police, and Mayor Cathy Murillo. “We are going to occupy State Street,” said Krystle Farmer, one of the organizers of the event. The protest was orchestrated by the Black Lives Matter SB group, headed by […]
Years from now we may look back on the Santa Barbara City Council meeting of April 21 as a time capsule of how prepared or not we were during the economic collapse of the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic. In that meeting, City Administrator Paul Casey introduced his new hire Economic Development Manager Jason Harris to the […]
Last Friday morning, around 100 people joined a Zoom conference call hosted by Montecito Journal Editor-in-Chief Gwyn Lurie and Publisher Tim Buckley. The goal of the call was to generate ideas that could help businesses bounce back from the loss of revenue stemming from social-distancing restrictions that were set in place by California a month […]
“Put it this way, the glass is more than half empty. Let’s just throw the glass out the window. Let’s forget it. There’s distrust. There’s disdain. That kind of baggage,” Jason Harris admitted. He’s Santa Barbara’s newly hired, first ever, Economic Development Manager (EDM). He’s moving his family from Santa Monica to Thousand Oaks, not […]
As evidenced by the January 27 debate between First District Supervisor Das Williams and challenger Laura Capps – the Montecito Journal Media Group’s standing-room-only event at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall – we’ve been paying a lot of attention to local politics of late. Continuing with that mission, we offer this guide […]
Cathy Murillo hosted the 14th annual Mayor’s Awards breakfast honoring businesses for facilitating employment for those with disabilities at the Carrillo Recreation Center. The Non-Profit award went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, the first menagerie on the Left Coast to become a certified autism center, while the outstanding effort accolade was given to the 45-year-old […]
