Tag archives: coronavirus
As recently as early March, Courtney Purcell’s Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation Meetup had a full slate of events on its calendar, with gatherings all over town, from the American Buddhist Meditation Temple on Orchid Drive near More Mesa to the foothills and beaches of Montecito, a leap year forest retreat in the expanse at La […]
Our town’s local premium consumer goods brand Nomad Goods, Inc., founded by Noah Dentzel and Brian Hahn, took on the COVID-19 urgent need of single use masks for frontline workers on March 18, and have ramped production to over a million masks per week with shipping in two to three days worldwide, utilizing their iPhone […]
Thanks to the fact that California has deemed cannabis to be an essential part of the state’s economy, Santa Barbara County’s cannabis industry is one of the few major employers that isn’t either completely shut down or drastically downscaled during the COVID-19 pandemic. CARP Growers, which represents legally licensed Carpinteria cannabis farms such as Autumn […]
Although it had to close its design studio on Coast Village Road and boutique shop inside the Four Seasons Hotel a week ago, Montecito’s Silverhorn Jewelers isn’t letting the coronavirus epidemic stall its preparations for the future. “All our employees are working from home since we are listed as an unnecessary business,” says Anne Luther, […]
In the past few weeks, hundreds of Montecito and Santa Barbara residents have been laid off or furloughed in the wake of the social distancing and shelter at home mandates issued in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. To get a sense of how this has already affected Santa Barbara’s tourism and hospitality industries, we […]
Center Stage Theater (CST), the black-box venue that makes itself available to the community through largely low-cost rentals, is also stepping up its game in perhaps an even bigger way by offering a new streaming service every night through the end of the month. The segments will run each night at 7 pm, also starting […]
Being alone in self-quarantine, as many of us are to one degree or another, isn’t easy. Being alone facing a raging coronavirus infection, even with loved ones nearby, is something everyone can’t help contemplating or perhaps doing their best to avoid thinking about. It’s a bridge we’ll cross too, if we find ourselves there. Dr. […]
In response to the massive economic impact of the coronavirus, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) on March 27. This sweeping action brought over $2 trillion to fight unemployment, bolster public health and provide some tax relief to businesses and individuals. Though much of the bill focuses on unemployment benefits […]
Huge thanks from the Montecito Journal to Maureen McDermut & Associates for sponsoring this week’s home delivery! We are doing everything possible to get to you during this difficult moment! In the blink of an eye, the world has changed. On Sunday evening my daughter wanted takeout from a local Mexican restaurant, but my husband […]
They call it the novel coronavirus. It will have existed for 142 days as of this publication. It’s called a “novel” virus because, while variations have existed before, this one is brand new. It’s unique in that it replicates quickly in asymptomatic people who are stealth carriers, then explodes in the population overwhelmingly, debilitating the […]
Based on the rush of emergency supply hoarding that has gone on for the past few weeks, it seems reasonable to suggest that most Montecito residents weren’t exactly prepared for the COVID-19 crisis when it first hit two weeks ago. Fortunately for us, the Montecito Fire Department (MFD) has been preparing for the event for […]
A decade ago, after working at Nordstrom for several years, Ellen Sztuk took a lunch break one day and called up her husband, telling him she was going to quit her job. That night, when she came home from work, her husband asked her what she could possibly be thinking. “I told him that I […]
Since 1979, Montecito’s non-profit Friendship Center has provided group therapy for senior citizens from Monday through Friday at its rustic headquarters on Eucalyptus Lane. Normally by mid-morning on a weekday, the center would be a buzz of activity, with caregivers dropping off members to enjoy a day full of live music, therapy dog yoga, talks […]
The concerts everywhere are all canceled, at least for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, and on into the summer, but the classical music organizations are doing their level best to keep in touch and keep you entertained. Camerata Pacifica might be leading the charge, as the chamber music ensemble is not only upgrading its […]
Nice Surprise Home delivery?! Now, the calm and comfort we feel from living in a small and caring community is complete. What a surprise to find the MJ in the driveway this morning along with the Times and WSJ. From a distance, I assumed we’d received some junk publication, but instead I found our more-valuable-than-ever […]
Unity Shoppe has come a long way back since a huge gap in its funding forced the nonprofit agency – the largest, single direct distributor of food, clothing, and necessities in the county – into briefly closing its distribution doors for two months in the fall of 2019. The nonprofit shut its doors for the […]
Information for Action She wrote a manifesto, which became flattenthecurve.com. It was originally a Google Doc. Her document was uploaded so fast that it broke the Google drive features. She had no idea who was sharing it. It was just staggering. Then someone reached out to her and said they had reserved the domain flattenthecurve.com […]
When we look out at the Pacific from Butterfly Beach it’s clear. The ocean still works. When we turn to look at the Santa Ynez Mountains it’s easy to see the mountains are just fine. Clouds, too. It also turns out that the valleys and fields and surrounding farms continue to produce food, with even […]
When I committed to write a regular column for the Montecito Journal about our local community and the people who care for it, I could never have imagined COVID-19 and how it has overtaken our collective world. But here we are in this moment of fear and “social distancing” and the crushing of livelihoods, and […]
Hello, my social distancing, hand washing friends out there! How are you coping amidst all this mayhem? Does anyone even know what day it is? As the apocalyptic pandemic of COVID-19 intensifies and our collective anxiety increases exponentially each day we remain under quarantine, I think it’s remarkable that any of us can peel ourselves […]
