‘Inspire Through Teaching’: Chelsea Owens Brings Love of Art to Area’s Classrooms
By Dalina Michaels   |   June 10, 2021

We typically have a lot of May gray this time of year— and Montecito mom Chelsea Owens spends plenty of time thinking in gray, Payne’s Gray to be exact. As a skilled color chemist, Chelsea traces her earliest palette to the Mediterranean and Payne’s Gray’s ability to fuse with all colors. So, it should come […]

Dear Montecito: Maiya Roddick
By Stella Haffner   |   May 20, 2021

Since starting this column, I’ve hoped to either feature a fellow student from my own university or another student of psychology. Today, we’ve got two for the price of one. I am happy to introduce Maiya Roddick: an alumna of the University of St. Andrews, a student of psychology, and a wonderfully thoughtful and accomplished […]

 

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Citizen Ganna: How Lotusland’s founder helped inspire one of the greatest films of all time
By Pauline O'Connor   |   May 20, 2021

Released 80 years ago this September, director Orson Welles’s debut film Citizen Kane has been inspiring countless arguments, articles, books, documentaries, parodies, and homages ever since. Playing a significant part in the film’s enduring mystique is the widespread belief that its two main characters, bombastic newspaper mogul Charles Foster Kane and his much-younger mistress, alcoholic […]

Her Star is Rising: Built on Family and Wanderlust, Meagan Harmon Earns Coastal Commission Nod
By Nick Masuda   |   May 20, 2021

On May 4 — a day already close to her heart as a self-proclaimed Star Wars “nerd”— Meagan Harmon did something that many local political pundits didn’t think was possible when she received a call that a handful of other veteran politicos were waiting for.  The call was from the governor’s office inviting Harmon to […]

Aimee Kielborn: Kombucha Queen Montecito Mom Aimee shares how she and her family run a home-brew supply business
By Dalina Michaels   |   May 20, 2021

When most people crack open a can of beer or sip a kombucha, they probably don’t think about the malts, grains, SCOBY, and fermenting that go in behind the scenes. Montecito Mom Aimee Kielborn not only thinks about it, she brings it light, or rather, to brew, with her company, BYOB!  Kielborn and her husband, […]

Dear Montecito: Dana Raymond Glass
By Stella Haffner   |   May 6, 2021

When I was little, Pierre Lafond sold these long, perfumey marshmallows. And I think, if you were to ask my parents, they’d tell you what a truculent little human I’d become if there were no blue ones left in stock. I remember running around on the water-worn bricks of the fountain, gumming at my lavender-flavored […]

Dear Montecito: Kristen Trent
By Stella Haffner   |   April 29, 2021

It strikes me that our country has many euphemisms for bigotry. We can’t pull our eyes away from the screen – our media and its love affair with the transgressions of people my own age. I see others who are ready to excuse their “acting out,” reassuring the rest of us that they will “grow […]

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  • Dear Montecito: Rowan Dowdall
    By Stella Haffner   |   April 22, 2021

    For the second week in a row, this column is hosting a letter from another talented young musician. Rowan Dowdall is a Connecticut-to-Santa Barbara transplant attending the Visual Arts & Design Academy at Santa Barbara High School. Between teaching himself to play the guitar and taking supplemental classes at City College, Rowan spends his downtime […]

    Dear Montecito: Dawson Fuss
    By Stella Haffner   |   April 15, 2021

    For many, quarantine has meant an opportunity to indulge their creative side. I’ve been treated to pieces of art and writing from friends and family, but it’s always nice to be reminded of the ways in which our community has grown artistically. Although, while I must admit that most of us are just dabbling in […]

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    Cate Head of School Ben Williams
    By Sigrid Toye   |   April 15, 2021

    What more can I possibly say about the nationally and internationally lauded Cate School located in the hills above Carpinteria overlooking the ocean? So much has already been written about this excellent 9th through 12th grade co-educational college preparatory school that offers a rigorous academic yet broad-based curriculum and an all-embracing student life. Cate’s diverse […]

    Senior Portrait: Joanne Rapp
    By Zach Rosen   |   April 8, 2021

    Home can certainly be where you make it, but sometimes home is simply where it has always been. For Joanne Rapp, who grew up in Santa Barbara, she did not expect to come back home to the area after college. But when life gave her the opportunity to return, she found that the tight-knit community […]

    Timing is Everything
    By Calla Corner   |   April 8, 2021

    If you saw John Sant’Ambrogio walking down Coast Village Road, you might mistake him for Larry David. On the other hand, if you saw Larry David walking down Coast Village Road, you might mistake him for John Sant’Ambrogio, the world renowned cellist. That is, if you’ve been the beneficiary of a private birthday concert given […]

    Native Roots
    By Eileen Read   |   April 2, 2021

    Sustainable landscaping doyenne Susan Van Atta is healing the local ecosystem one acre at a time… It was Susan Van Atta’s birthday just after the presidential inauguration and she wanted to spend it quietly riding her bike on a nostalgic tour through “her” Carpinteria. She set off along the paths of the Salt Marsh Reserve (she helped designed […]

    Animal Planet
    By Zach Rosen   |   April 2, 2021

    Kristina McKean’s passion project is saving one elephant at a time in the United States and abroad Kristina McKean has funneled her lifetime passion for helping animals into a full-time profession by creating The Elephant Project. McKean had always felt drawn to animals and their related causes but it wasn’t until her honeymoon to Thailand with her […]

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