Tag archives: covid
On Tuesday, February 23, the Santa Barbara City Council extended its Emergency Economic Recovery Ordinance until March 8, 2022. The ordinance, which was adopted last May, continues the temporary closure of certain streets, on-street parking, and public parking to allow outdoor dining and outdoor business uses in the public right-of-way or on private property, which […]
Former TV talk show titan Oprah Winfrey hosted a two-hour, hotly anticipated interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and it was worthy of a royal soap opera! It was certainly an astonishing and incendiary show, with Oprah’s Harpo Productions raking in between $7 and $9 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, and CBS […]
Wayne Siemens and his wife, Sharol, have been customers of Montecito’s iconic San Ysidro Pharmacy for the past 35 years. When he was younger, Siemens and as many as eight of his tennis pals, known as the “Pharmacy Boys,” would drop by, dripping wet, after their morning games to eat at the adjacent Montecito Coffee […]
On March 6, 1920, the Morning Press reported that the petroleum industry was booming in Ventura, prohibition agents were arresting bootleggers and rumrunners, and fruit vendors were setting up stands along the highways so booze-deprived drivers could quench their thirst by sucking on oranges. (I kid you not, there was an article in the newspaper!) […]
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 […]
–From County Public Health Office Appointments for first doses of COVID-19 vaccines are available to eligible Santa Barbara County residents every Monday at 9 am through the county’s public health vaccination sites. People who are eligible for these appointments are those who work in emergency services, agriculture, and food services, and any remaining Phase 1A […]
Ed Lister, who is known in both Los Angeles and Santa Barbara as a skilled scenic artist with credits in the theater credits and mural making, has created a series of vibrant abstract silk screen prints, or serigraphs. They were made starting in the early 1970s while he was teaching printmaking at the Chelsea School […]
Now that Governor Gavin Newsom has lifted the total ban on eating out, I ventured to the historic Santa Barbara Yacht Club to dine with my trusty shutterbug Priscilla, the Montecito animal activist Gretchen Lieff and her longtime beau Miles Hartfeld. The dining room on the outside terrace overlooking the Pacific was socially gridlocked, with […]
On February 19, the Montecito Journal hosted a mid-morning Zoom meeting during which several local politicians and health officials answered questions and addressed the challenges that have affected Santa Barbara County’s ongoing efforts to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to residents. Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Gwyn Lurie and Chief Operating Officer Tim Buckley, the meeting’s guests included U.S. […]
There’s plenty to celebrate in Santa Barbara these days, and not just the spurt of greenery and wildflowers poking up from the earth in the sunshine following last month’s rains or the fact that the number of daily COVID-19 cases has dropped down to double digits for the first time in nearly two months. Joy […]
I was going to be the “Cool Mom.” The “Let’s Play Hooky and Eat Ice Cream For Dinner Mom.” Or at least that was the plan. The cruel reality came crashing down during the COVID pandemic when, against my will, I blurted out to my children the words feared by parents and kids alike: “Because […]
Contrary to Nick Welsh’s February 10 piece in the Santa Barbara Independent, at no point did I suggest in my Montecito Journal editorial replacing Dr. Ansorg or Van Do-Reynoso with Thomas Tighe or Charity Dean. My letter made the fairly obvious suggestion that our county would benefit from a COVID Czar that has the independence […]
Five new members have joined Santa Barbara Zoo’s board of directors. The menagerie’s quintet includes attorney Jessica L. Diaz, Tracy Krainer, Bob Myman, retired veterinarian Dan Segna, and the Zoo’s former education director Betsy Turner. Montecito Bank & Trust executive George Leis chairs the board. Wedding Bells CBS morning show anchor Gayle King’s daughter, Kirby […]
This Friday, February 19, at 10:30 am, the Montecito Journal will host a Community Zoom Forum on the subject of our County’s COVID Vaccination Rollout. Present at this forum will be: Congressman Salud Carbajal, State Senator Monique Limón, County Supervisors Das Williams and Gregg Hart, Santa Barbara County Director of Public Health Van Do-Reynoso, and […]
On February 8, Carpinteria Mayor Wade Nomura sent a letter to State Senator Monique Limón asking for her support for a proposal to provide economic relief to local businesses based on economic losses per square footage. “Although some businesses in the city have been allowed to gradually reopen with protections in place, business activities within […]
Sometimes it takes a global pandemic to highlight the crucial role that community banks play in rescuing local businesses from the economic nightmare that comes with a year-long statewide shutdown. For American Riviera Bank (ARB), which opened in 2006 thanks to about 400 local shareholders who put up roughly $25 million in start-up cash, the […]
Interesting concept, as per last week’s lead piece of this newspaper. Having a COVID vaccination czar in Santa Barbara. It would be even worth investigating if it weren’t so hypocritical and so self centered for this particular newspaper to bring the subject matter up. Two weeks ago MJ’s investigative reporter Nicholas Schou pointed out, what […]
After finally recovering from COVID-19 and feeling well enough to play golf again, Billy Mandarino woke one morning to find his hands, feet, and face completely numb. He is now re-learning how to walk. Mandarino is one of the more than one hundred thousand cases nationwide with what doctors are calling Long Haulers Syndrome, or […]
Vaccinating at least 70% of the world’s population is, to say the least, challenging. Especially when you consider the number of variables that must coalesce, like Federal, State, and local governments, private industries, varying political perspectives and trust levels, and, of course, sheer math. It’s a logistical bear. The confusion and inconsistencies that have plagued […]
On a personal note, I mark the passing of Kellam de Forest, who has died of COVID-19 at the age of 95. I was lucky enough to meet the noted historic preservationist, son of Santa Barbara landscape architect Lockwood and his horticulturalist wife Elizabeth de Forest. Kellam, who initially used a walker, but progressed to […]
