Welcome to the Neighborhood: Montecito is experiencing a once-in-a-generation real estate boom that is reshaping the once sleepy, bucolic town
By Peter Kiefer   |   December 24, 2020

Signs that a community is in the throes of an historic transformation are rarely overt and almost never seismic. They’re small yet perceptible shifts that, in aggregate, tell a story of where a town or a city is coming from and where it’s most likely headed. In the case of Montecito those signs – at […]

The Montecito Journal 2020 Holiday Gift Guide
By Claudia Schou   |   December 17, 2020

Montecito’s legacy shops have stood the test of time, braving the lightest of lulls to the meanest of bear markets. And in a year that has cratered traditional retail, the village’s small businesses have stood tall again. In the midst of yet another crippling lockdown, we feature a few of the area’s celebrated boutiques for […]

 

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Promotion, Partnerships, and Polo
By Richard Mineards   |   December 10, 2020

Dallas dynamo and former TV anchor Charles Ward, who has been promoting the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club for nearly two decades, is expanding his empire. Charles, who plays President George Washington with my King George III in the village parade each year, has forged a strategic alliance with the international luxury glossy Polo […]

A Safe Space
By Richard Mineards   |   December 10, 2020

Santa Barbara creative marketing agency Oniracom is giving back to the community during the COVID-19 crisis, particularly during the holiday season. The company, whose studio facilities are located near the Funk Zone, is providing at-cost pandemic friendly media space and live stream technology solutions. “We are all part of an incredible community that it’s our […]

Ho! Ho! Holidaze!
By Leslie Westbrook   |   December 10, 2020

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, […]

Happy Anniversary
By Richard Mineards   |   December 3, 2020

Karl Storz Imaging, which has been of a pillar of the Central Coast’s technology industry and is one of the area’s largest employers with nearly 400 staff, just celebrated its 30th anniversary. KSI is a subsidiary of Karl Storz SE and Co. KG, a family-owned company based in Germany that employs more than 8,000 people […]

Tina Frey Designs
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   December 3, 2020

A new home design store has opened in San Ysidro Village; TF Design Montecito softly opened earlier this month. Namesake owner and designer Tina Frey has personally curated the space with a comprehensive collection of her simple and modern resin designs. All pieces are conceived and hand-sculpted by Frey, and handmade by a talented and […]

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  • Keeping up With the New Innkeeper
    By Richard Mineards   |   December 3, 2020

    Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner didn’t have to look very far for a new manager at his 500-acre, 41-cottage, five-star hostelry, the San Ysidro Ranch. Ian Williams, who replaced bonnie Scottish lass Maxine Rutledge as overseer of the historic property where the late President John Kennedy and wife, Jackie, spent their honeymoon, and actor Laurence […]

    Still-Furloughed Four Seasons Biltmore Employees Now Seeking Lost Wages
    By Nick Schou   |   November 26, 2020

    Santa Barbara’s hospitality industry still isn’t close to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic but few employees have had it as bad as the roughly 450 workers from the Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore Santa Barbara, all of whom were furloughed last March and who lost their employer-funded medical insurance in July. Although the resort is […]

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    Caldwell Snyder Gallery Opens New Storefront on Coast Village Road
    By Nick Schou   |   November 19, 2020

    Montecito’s newest storefront, the small yet striking Caldwell Snyder Gallery features a monumental Brad Howe steel sculpture out front and showcases works by an exclusive roster of 55 living contemporary artists from around the world. It’s no coincidence that it’s located just across the street from the Honor Bar. Along with his longtime partner Susan […]

    Making Good Choices with Decision Analysis
    By Scott Craig   |   November 19, 2020

    Enrico Manlapig, associate professor of economics and business, explores “Decision Analysis and the Common Good” in a live webinar on Thursday, November 19, at 5:30 pm at vimeo.com/474003951. The Westmont Downtown Lecture is sponsored by the Westmont Foundation, which helps build connections between Westmont and the greater Santa Barbara community. The webinar features special guest […]

    Virtual Vacation to Honduras
    By Leslie Westbrook   |   November 19, 2020

    We could all use a virtual vacation. Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary board member Leslie Rugg reached out to me enthusiastically via email to get the word out about the parrot haven and rescue center in Summerland whose director of the Sanctuary is longtime Montecito resident Jamie McLeod. Birds with chronic conditions remain at the Sanctuary […]

    Struggling with Homeowner’s Insurance?
    By Sharon Byrne   |   October 29, 2020

    Revelations From the California Insurance Commissioner’s Marathon Virtual Hearing The good news from the pandemic: the state has learned how to do Zoom. We no longer have to trek to Sacramento to work with state officials; we can now do it from our living rooms. Direct democracy in action! We met Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara last […]

    6Q’s with Magic Castle Cabaret’s Arlene Larsen
    By Steven Libowitz   |   October 1, 2020

    Like every performing arts venue in town, the Magic Castle Cabaret has been closed since March as even private club prestidigitation has been rendered powerless by the pandemic. But the charming year-old establishment that serves as the local Santa Barbara-Montecito offshoot to the famed Castle in Hollywood co-founded by Milt Larsen in the early 1960s […]

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