Tag archives: virus
As we face the new year, it is lost on no one that those of us fortunate to have made it this far are heading into our third year living with COVID. At the same time, we are careening toward another all-important midterm election inside a nation seemingly as politically divided as ever. In addition, […]
The last six months of my father’s life were spent in isolation from our family and his friends, but not, as I was to learn, from a new, adhoc family that embraced him. Like millions across the U.S., the COVID lockdowns kept me, my mother, and my siblings completely apart from my 80-year-old father. But, […]
Last week, the Montecito Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the county’s Board of Supervisors to extend local ordinance provisions related to COVID-19. The provisions have been in place since last summer, when the Board of Supervisors approved the Temporary Development Standard Suspension Ordinance Amendments to implement regulations regarding the temporary suspension of compliance […]
The sparsely populated but energized International Terminal at LAX is an embraceable symbol of the reawakening world. Neither as devoid of life as a Charlton Heston zombie apocalypse, nor as thronged as in pre-COVID days of innocence and joy — when “viral” meant a dog pushing a lawnmower and conspiracy talk leaned to the now-lovable […]
Montecito resident and medical journalist Michael Bowker has penned a new book, Beating Long Haulers Syndrome, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. “I really wanted to shed light on Long Haulers Syndrome, and convince people and politicians that it is striking millions of COVID survivors. We need to allocate far more funds […]
Am I the only one noticing the dangerous speeds that e-bikes and riders who push them to their limits pose to drivers and themselves in and around Montecito? They seem to zip around as fast as motorcycles, yet no special license is required. It’s great that more people are getting outdoors and traveling farther afield […]
On July 19, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department issued guidance recommending folks wear masks while indoors, whether vaccinated or not. This isn’t a surprise, given what has been happening with the Delta variant, which includes: •Significant uptick in cases in Israel, the UK, Los Angeles, and now the Bay Area. •Israel resumed mandated […]
Note to Readers: In 2007, when I wrote about the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic in Santa Barbara, I never thought its story would ever be timely and relevant to today. I am sorry to have been wrong. I offer it again for your curiosity, instruction, and hope. They got through it then, and we’ll get […]
Some credit to Émile Durkheim, the pioneering French Sociologist, with originating the concept of social solidarity which he defined as the “the interdependence between individuals and across groups.” In fact, the description served for Durkheim as a synonym for the normal healthy state of society, what holds society together, an essential tool for combating infectious […]
Within the social distancing guidelines, as inconsistent as they are across the country, it’s already become odd to see people in Netflix movies holding hands, walking together, gathering at concerts, hugging and being close. Press conferences where the experts stand shoulder to shoulder seem unnerving. If you’re not one of the oblivious, Covidiot Spring Breakers, […]
Let’s get real – what do you need to know now? Talking COVID-19, the pandemic, local life, and help. We had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, the Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine specialist at Cottage Hospital, whose Cottage Grand Rounds Doctor to Doctor video has gone viral locally. Dr. Fitzgibbons and the […]
I was talking to a young friend on Friday. She grew up in Montecito and is in her sophomore year of college in Santa Barbara. We were commiserating about her school, and my daughters’ local schools, all coming to such an abruptly surreal halt when my friend looked at me and said, “Same thing happened […]
