Tag archives: Portia de Rossi

Santa Barbara Symphony has appointed Rebecca Roling as vice president of patron and community engagement. A lifelong classical music fan, patron of the arts, and musician, Roling will build upon and leverage the popular organization’s impact and momentum, and be responsible for the growth of donation and ticket revenue through patron connection and loyalty. Five […]

TV talk show host and serial real estate flipper Ellen DeGeneres and her longtime wife-actress Portia de Rossi have put on the market their latest acquisition in our rarefied enclave for $39.9 million. They purchased the bulk of the Bali-esque Montecito spread last year for $27 million, but since then have expanded the complex, which […]

Oliver’s, the Coast Village Road vegetarian restaurant that took five years to transform from the old Peabody’s space under owner cell phone billionaire Craig McCaw, 70, has been sold, says my mole with the martini. McCaw, who has moved back to Seattle, has been divesting himself of his properties in our rarefied enclave, including his […]

Montecito art and car collector Michael Hammer‘s actor son, Armie, 33, is reprising his role in the sequel to the hit film Call Me By Your Name with Oscar nominated Timothee Chalamet, 24. Director Luca Guadagnino, 48, who helmed the original 2017 drama, says both lead actors are keen to reprise their roles in the […]

Former telecommunications executive Terry Valeski is Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s new chair for the board of trustees. Terry, a former Montecito neighbor, served on the museum’s board for six years and previously served as vice chair for finance. “The museum and sea center have evolved magnificently over the years and are truly an […]

David Bolton, executive director of the California Missions Foundation, has a lucrative sideline with his TV production company, Cultural Global Media. One year after covering his first Super Bowl, the company has been hired again to produce the legendary NFL event from Miami, Florida, on Sunday (February 2) for millions of viewers throughout Latin America. […]

Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West was socially gridlocked when the Z.E.N. Trio, made up from the initials of pianist Zhang Duo, violinist Esther Yoo, and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, performed as part of UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures series. The concert, part of the long-running Robert Weinman-sponsored Up Close & Musical Series, […]

To La Cocina, formerly Somerset, with my snapperazzi Priscilla, to check out the made-over East Anapamu Street eatery, which now features Mexican-Californian cuisine. The charming back courtyard, filled with lavender bushes and gnarled ancient fig trees brought in by flatbed trucks from Northern California and craned in over the rooftops when it first opened after […]

Peripatetic Summerland twosome Marv and Gray Bauer are looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics next year with special interest. Their granddaughter Miki Dahlke, a senior at Harvard, has just qualified for the Olympic trials in the 200-meter freestyle at the Phillips 66 National Championships at Stanford University. Hailing from Mill Valley, where she attended Tamalpais […]

A positive plethora of presidents, past and present, descended on the Hilton Beachfront Resort for the sold-out 71st annual La Reception del Presidents, kicking off Fiesta Week in grand style. The fun fête in the Plaza del Sol, short on speeches and long on tradition with dancing and music, attracted more than 330 local dignitaries, […]

Social gridlock reigned at fashion designer Kendall Conrad‘s Montecito Country Mart store when she hosted a book launch bash for writer Julia Chaplin‘s 191-page The BoHo Manifesto, An Insider’s Guide to Postconventional Living. Brooklyn, New York-based Julia has already written and produced three books – Gypset Style, Gypset Travel, and Gypset Living, and has founded […]

Tech entrepreneur Sean Rad is selling his Montecito home for $12.67 million. The former Tinder CEO and co-founder purchased the estate for $11 million from TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. Rancho San Leandro boasts two main residences, totaling 6,764 sq. ft. Built in the 1800s, the main hacienda-style residence has […]

Johann Sebastian Bach was certainly ready for his closeup when the Music Academy of the West hosted a Council of Contributors alumnus recital at its cavernous Lehmann Hall with 32-year-old pianist Evan Shinners, who gained considerably notoriety last year when he performed works of the German composer for five hours daily for 37 consecutive days […]

Gourmands and oenophiles were out in force at the Wine Shepherd when the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum threw an intimate bash to mark the 38th year of its popular wine and food festival in June, which is expected to raise $130,000 for educational programs. The fest on the 14-acre campus along the shaded banks […]

Los Arroyos, the popular Mexican eatery on Coast Village Road, is celebrating 20 years in business. Owner Tony Arroyo opened his first location in downtown Santa Barbara on West Figueroa Street in 1999 and launched his outlet in our rarefied enclave in 2004. The chain now has branches in Camarillo and Goleta, with a nosheteria […]

It was a delightful night of high camp when Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performed a hilarious program at the packed Granada, part of the of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series. Music by Chopin, Verdi, Glazunov accompanied the balletic high jinx. Having seen the 45-year-old company a number of times in New […]

Santa Barbara Historical Museum set its trustees, past and present, to work choosing favorite pieces of art from more than 3,000 works in the venerable institution’s vault for a Trusted Treasures exhibition featuring 16 works, with each piece accompanied by a photo of the trustee and a quote or two on why the painting was […]