Tag archives: Meghan Markle

A Royals Record
By Richard Mineards   |   June 17, 2021

I went to the historic Rockwood Woman’s Club to speak to a record turnout of 80 guests for a Royal Tea. After British-born Janet Bullock, who served finger sandwiches and clotted cream scones on her Royal Crown Derby china, alongside dainty cups of Earl Grey tea, I regaled the club members — many wearing colorful […]

‘Fiesta Has Definitely Returned’: La Primavera Kicks Off Summer-Long Party
By Richard Mineards   |   May 27, 2021

After Old Spanish Days was all but cancelled last year because of the pandemic, Fiesta fever was palpable at the Carriage and Western Art Museum with La Primavera, as the unveiling of the colorful festival’s new poster and pin helped kicked off the festivities in front of nearly 100 guests, led by gloriously attired La […]

Toasting a Visionary: Dozens Celebrate Kostis Protopapas’ 50th Birthday
By Richard Mineards   |   May 20, 2021

It was all Greek to many when Kostis Protopapas, general director of Opera Santa Barbara, celebrated his half-century with a delightful evening of music and song at the University Club. Kostis, who was born in Athens and moved to the U.S. in 1993 on an Onassis scholarship to study piano at The Boston Conservatory and […]

Does Money Grow on Trees? Asking for a Friend.
By Richard Mineards   |   April 22, 2021

Forbes’ 35th annual “World’s Billionaire List” includes a record-breaking 2,755 billionaires, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topping it for the fourth consecutive year. This year’s billionaires are worth a combined $13.1 trillion, up $8 trillion from last year. “The very, very rich got very, very richer,” says Forbes chief content officer Randall Lane. Needless to […]

Girl Power!
By Richard Mineards   |   April 15, 2021

Luz Reyes-Martin, executive director of public affairs and communications at Santa Barbara City College, and Barbara Ben-Horin, former CEO of Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, are being honored by the local chapter of the Association for Women in Communications at the 13th annual awards presented by Women Connect4Good via Zoom later this month. Independent […]

A Wish Comes True
By Richard Mineards   |   April 15, 2021

Montecito Bank & Trust on Coast Village Road was the focal point when a parade including firefighters, law enforcement, and representatives of the community honored a Make-A-Wish Tri-Counties recipient, Carmelo Bisquera, 16, a student at Santa Barbara’s Olive Grove Charter School. Carmelo, whose hobbies are video games and reading, was born with an endocrine disorder […]

Poof! The Magic Castle Cabaret is Gone
By Richard Mineards   |   April 8, 2021

Two years after it opened, the owners of Montecito’s Magic Castle Cabaret Milt and Arlene Larsen are moving on, I can exclusively reveal. “The Cabaret has been closed for a long year and we are not getting any younger,” laments Arlene. “When we started, we seemed a lot younger. “After talking it over for many […]

Call it a Comeback
By Richard Mineards   |   April 1, 2021

Montecito artist Allison Armour, whose huge global figures have been collected by former Beatle Ringo Starr and even Russian President Vladimir Putin, is getting back to prominence in Goleta, and I’m delighted to hear it. Eight years ago, Goleta Valley Hospital held a competition for a new art installation outside the complex and Allison’s work […]

The Other Empire Strikes Back
By Jeffrey Stewart   |   April 1, 2021

A little-known American tradition was evident in the backstory of Meghan Markle’s remarkable interview with Oprah Winfrey last Sunday that few recognize today. Unbeknownst to most, there exists a tradition of Black Victorians in America, the sophisticated middle-class African Americans who assimilated the tastes and manners of upper-class life in Britain, especially its aesthetic codes, […]

Magic at Marymount
By Richard Mineards   |   March 25, 2021

One year to the day they had to close their doors due to the pandemic, Marymount of Santa Barbara celebrated the resilience of their community with their annual auction gala. The school opened back up for in-person learning in September and the auction’s theme “Magic of the Night” acknowledged how special this was. “We are […]

To Whom It May Concern
By Montecito Journal   |   March 25, 2021

I am writing to strongly oppose the appointment of Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams to the Coastal Commission. My personal experience with Supervisor William’s development and oversight of cannabis regulations, in SBC, has demonstrated to me and many others that he has failed to uphold the laws to ‘Protect Public Health, Safety, Welfare and […]

Polos and Ponies
By Montecito Journal   |   March 18, 2021

The recent interesting “Seen Around Town” article (volume 27, issue 10) reviewed Santa Barbara Polo Club and requires a few comments and corrections. It mentioned that polo player Elmer Boeseke Jr. was able to gain admittance for the local club into the U.S.P.A. However, it was his father, Dr. Elmer J. Boeseke, who served two […]

From Riven Rock to Windsor
By Richard Mineards   |   March 18, 2021

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 […]

Dear Ms Read
By Montecito Journal   |   March 11, 2021

Regarding the letter by Eileen Read. I have never met her nor Bob Hazard. I don’t care if he’s a motel franchiser from Phoenix, or a right-wing political gadfly. I and my surf-rider friends, fishermen, ocean swimmers, and beachgoers ONLY care about the quality of effluent that enters the surf and that is only treated […]

What a Year
By Richard Mineards   |   March 11, 2021

It has been quite a hair-raising year for Montecito crimper Marcus Boyle, owner of the Halo & Horns salon on Coast Village Road with his wife, Clara, just a curling tongs’ throw from Ca’Dario. Marcus, 45, who trained at Vidal Sassoon in London, celebrates the first anniversary of his business this month having worked for […]

A Good Start
By Richard Mineards   |   March 4, 2021

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 […]

Commingling Water and Sewage?
By Montecito Journal   |   March 4, 2021

There’ve been two letters in the past two weeks concerning the possibly inappropriate influence that Bob Hazard might be trying to exercise over water policy in our village, specifically his amateur hydrological agenda that includes a risible proposal to merge the boards of the Montecito Water Authority (MWA) and the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD). For […]

Just in Time
By Richard Mineards   |   February 11, 2021

Santa Barbara City College’s Atkinson Gallery and the SBCC Foundation have been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Getty Foundation to prepare for the next edition of the region-wide arts initiative Pacific Standard Time, scheduled to open in 2024. Pacific Standard Time is an unprecedented series of collaborations among institutions across Southern California. In each, […]

Young Artists Shine
By Richard Mineards   |   February 4, 2021

The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara has named 22 student artists as winners of its art scholarship competition. Each will receive a colleague scholarship for the 2021-22 academic year. “Under normal circumstances we would hold the competition at the Ridley-Tree Education Center and host a reception for the winners at the Santa Barbara Museum of […]

Let’s Hear it for the Girls
By Richard Mineards   |   January 14, 2021

Having completed five years leading Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, Barbara Ben-Horin is leaving the pro-girl nonprofit. Since joining the organization in January 2016 it has expanded its Teen Center programming, overhauled its emergency planning, and advanced its advocacy efforts on behalf of girls’ rights and opportunities. “I deeply believe in Girls Inc.’s vision […]