In Wachtberg near the Rhine is a bronze monument to a heroic German general of World War I. He was able to bring back a few of his men. My German grandfather, Gustav Felsenthal, was among the hundreds of thousands holed up in the terrible trenches of France, 1915-1918. Although Germany lost a war that […]
The glue binding America is coming undone. Every aspect of life is becoming strained by growing divisiveness. Which media do we trust? Who is worthy of federal aid? How can we ever put this country back together as “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”? Trust in our political leadership has […]
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Only in California is it possible for two accomplished Democrats, with near perfect party pedigrees, to run for one job to represent the voters of District 1 as a Supervisor for Santa Barbara County. Political pundits promise that this year’s race for the District 1 seat between the incumbent Das Williams and the challenger Laura […]
The hottest ticket in Montecito for the month of January is a seat at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall on Monday evening, January 27, 6 to 8 pm, for a FREE, 1st come, 1st served, debate between the Democratic incumbent, 1st District County Supervisor Das Williams, and the Democrat challenger Laura Capps, […]
California has been reliably blue for most of the last 20 years and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. At the state level, Democrats control the Governorship (Gavin Newsom), the Lieutenant Governor (Eleni Kounalakis), the Attorney General (Xavier Becerra), and the Secretary of State (Alex Padilla). They have attained a super majority […]
At the beginning of our telephone conversation, when I said to the former governor of Ohio and 2016 presidential candidate John Kasich that my most impressive memory of him was in the mid-1990s, when he teamed up with then Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich as the face of the Republican Contract With […]
When Priscilla, our photographer, asked Dr. Gulhan Guitenkin, the cardiologist traveling with former Prime Minister of Turkey (from 2016 to 2018) Binali Yildirim, how we should address Mr. Yildirim, we were advised that the proper way would be “Your Excellency, Mr. Prime Minister.” So we did, though it seemed especially formal in such an informal […]
Your choice for the Water and Sanitary District (MSD) candidates in the Tuesday, November 6, election will decide what kind of Montecito will be rebuilt from the debris and destruction nine months ago. A few months ago, I spoke to the Montecito Association at “public comment” time about the need for unity while the community […]
I am running for the Board of Directors of the Montecito Water District because I believe that sound governance can deliver a more resilient and secure water future for our community. After years of inaction, we must shift to a more reliable, local, and sustainable water supply that will maintain our quality of life and […]
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Hello, from Judith Ishkanian. Surely nobody expected Mother Nature to inundate Montecito with mud and debris nine months ago. But she did, It has been a remarkable experience for Montecito residents ever since. According to the Sanitary District records, 10 percent of our population is off-line, whether because of total ruin, major repairs, disruption of […]
I, Dick Shaikewitz, am an incumbent Montecito Water District (MWD) director since 2006, holding a business degree from Northwestern University and a law degree from Washington University. I practiced law in Southern Illinois; primarily doing litigation. Montecito has been my home for 21 years. I served six years as a Montecito Association director. The Music […]
We should thank Judith Ishkanian and Bob Williams for their service to our community as appointed board members of the Montecito Sanitation District (MSD) for the past 12 and four years, respectively. I also want to thank the employees of the MSD who worked long and hard hours to restore our systems after the debris […]
Montecito is at an important crossroads in this post-disaster era. Our community’s ability to recover and thrive depends in large part on our leaders’ willingness to take decisive and large steps to move forward with resilient, sustainable, and environmentally sound infrastructure and strategies. Water is the most important resource for Montecito, and it is in […]
The American left is twisting itself into knots trying to figure out its basic messaging. Once discredited, “democratic socialists” have been re-energized, led by a 76-year-old Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, who has been preaching socialism for half a century, and 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a stunning upset winner over favored Democrat Joe Crowley, a 10-term […]
