Tag archives: Summerland

We can’t think of a sweeter Valentine’s gift than the one from generous Summerland resident and philanthropist Nora McNeely Hurley and her husband, Michael Hurley. Summerland School’s very tired tennis courts will be undergoing a complete renovation thanks to a two-year grant from the Manitou Fund. Nora McNeely Hurley is a Trustee and Chief Programming […]

It’s no surprise that Lou Cannon does a pretty good imitation of President Ronald Reagan. After all, he covered Reagan from his governorship in California to his time in the White House through to his final days, writing five books about California’s former governor and president, including President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, among […]

Looking over my 2020 Filofax calendar (yes, I still use one of those) and reviewing the past year, it’s not nearly as full as previous years. 2020 stated out well enough: it went from meeting friends at Tharios’ Kitchen and Field + Fort, Sunday brunches at El Encanto, Miramar, Four Seasons Biltmore for an Edible […]

Suzy “Squeaky Wheel” Cawthon has spent eight long years on a long and winding road of a dream that began with Fran Davis, the “founding mother” of an effort to re-imagine and enhance Lookout Park. The idea was to move the camp host from its perch and a primo spot to the upper end of […]

My great Aunt Betty laughed when I bought my house in Summerland in the early 1980s. She told me that her husband, my great uncle Heywood, used to work on those wells when they lived in Summerland in the 1930s. Little did I know at the time that the very oil wells he worked on […]

Mark Osiel is a lawyer, author, and law professor who holds the Aliber Family Chair at the University of Iowa. So, what’s he doing in Summerland? Well, he adds yet another accomplished and interesting citizen to the community for starters. Here’s a little to know about the professor and author. Q. You recently moved to […]

With City officials urging a Safer at Home order aiming to slow the spread of the coronavirus, now more than ever is the time to support local businesses. Indoor dining is banned for the time being, and as we move into the winter months, dining outdoors is not ideal. But Summerland, a sleepy seaside community, […]

Santa’s elves have been working hard to prepare Summerland emporiums with festive atmosphere and sparkling gift choices for the holiday season. In fact, most places were already sporting Christmas trees and décor the weekend before Thanksgiving and more than 45 flocked wreaths had already flown out the door like hot cakes at Field + Fort, […]

Hacienda, by Bonita Lifestyle, the latest incarnation of retail shopping therapy in Summerland by Rita Villa, opened its doors mid-November. Located just down the street from the Summerland Beach Café (and in the same row as Garde on the street behind the liquor store), the shop is the culmination of the many years of Rita’s […]

Even movie stars and the rich and famous need to play by the rules, so it should seem simple for the rest of us mere mortals. At a Summerland Architectural Board of Review meeting a few years back, the board approved a 26,000-square-foot house (by virtue of a variance on the 25-acre beachfront property) for […]

A warm Summerland welcome to sports legend Maria Sharapova, who has purchased one of my favorite properties. The retired (in February of this year) tennis player has purchased a five-acre ocean view compound in the hills for $8.6 million. The 33-year-old Russian has won more than $38 million in prize money – that’s not counting […]

Will freeway noise be louder or quieter, during construction and/or when it is finished? How long will the construction take (spoiler alert: asteroid Bennu)? Will commuters take a short cut on the “Banner Avenue freeway” instead of the 101 or Lillie Avenue?  All these questions and more were answered during an informative 1.5-hour presentation by […]

For anyone wanting to live the Summerland version of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” two of the town’s grandest estates are on the market. Both are owned by polo patrons: there are digs and playing fields for the horses that far outshine many Summerland beach shacks. Tuscany Oaks Farm, a seven-bedroom, 10-bath polo estate […]

This week I’m taking the opportunity to sound off from my soapbox, since the lead item on the Summerland’s popularity vote “yea” or “nay” for a cannabis dispensary in town, which ran a few weeks ago, created quite a little stir that resulted in three letters to the editor printed over three issues. First, I […]

Porch, the popular Santa Claus Lane home, garden, and gift store, has moved from Santa Claus Lane and officially opened in its new location in the space long known as Just Folk on Lillie Avenue. With a new coat of white paint and the two-story space filled with lots of tempting items, large and small, […]

Has Summerland ‘Spoken’? The front-page “hook” for the Summerland cannabis dispensary article repeats a statement from a Summerland Citizens Association email regarding the survey results (which I reject outright). While eye catching, it is not a fair presentation of the facts and could lead a reader to infer that Summerland has “spoken” (another exaggerated claim […]

Summerland residents and visitors who enjoy Lookout Park should be feeling pretty hopeful: the construction aspects of the long-anticipated improvements to the east end of the ocean view community recreational area are almost complete – but there’s still a three-month waiting period for the official opening. The project will open to the public in December […]

Local food activist and Sweet Wheel Farm & Flowers owner Leslie Person Ryan is on a mission to solve the “food desert” of Summerland. The think-outside-the-box purveyor of all things grown from the earth offers fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, baked goods, wildflowers, and specialty foods made with ingredients from her garden. Person Ryan operates two […]