Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä, 71, former musical director of the Seoul Philharmonic, was in fine form at the Granada when he led the Academy Festival Orchestra in its first performance of the summer festival season. The highly entertaining concert opened with Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. and Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer, concluding […]

As Fiesta prepares to celebrate its century, Fiesta Ranchera was marking its 16th anniversary with more than 500 glamorously garbed guests gathering at the 152-year-old Rancho La Patera Gardens in Goleta raising more than $25,000 – split equally between Old Spanish Days and the Goleta Valley Historical Society. New El Presidente Brian Schwabecher, blazingly attired […]

Having settled his four-year battle with the Toronto-based Four Seasons hotel group, Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner is planning to turn 50 of the 368 rooms at his iconic I. M. Pei-designed Manhattan hostelry into up to 50 apartments, according to the New York Post. “The units would cater to full-time residents who will be […]

Santa Barbara’s spirit of giving back permeates every corner, a truth I constantly witness as a writer chronicling the vibrant lifestyles of our community. This truth shines brightly in Ajay Mitchell, a local sports hero who isn’t just electrifying audiences with his performance for the UCSB Gauchos, but also leaving a lasting impression through his […]

Hillside Santa Barbara held its 20th Annual Emerald Soirée on Friday, June 7, at the Santa Barbara Club’s outside garden area. The organization has been helping those community members with special needs for 80 years. The funds raised at the event support the quality of life for the 59 residents at Hillside. The event started […]

The ever-entertaining Takács Quartet was in superb form at the sold out Lobero as they performed in the first week of the Music Academy of the West’s 77th Summer Festival. The Fab Four – violinists Edward Dusinberre and Harumi Rhodes, cellist András Fejér, and Grammy-winning violist Richard O’Neill, formerly with Camerata Pacifica – are currently […]

Supporters of the Santa Barbara Symphony have been making a splash with a Cruise for a Cause on the River Danube from Vienna to Budapest. Montecito Bank & Trust, which has sponsored the trip, is donating a portion of the proceeds to the symphony. More than 64 MClub and symphony Crescendo members were onboard the […]

The Santa Barbara-based Dream Foundation received a hefty check from Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox when CEO Kisa Heyer and staffers flew to the Windy City to pick up the gift. The team also presented checks to Stand Up to Cancer, the University of Chicago Medicine and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center […]

Jerry Oshinsky, known professionally as one of the true titans of insurance coverage law, passed away on April 9, 2024, from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. I was privileged to work with Jerry at the very end of his life – because I am also a lawyer, sure, but mostly because I have the good […]

The RUNX1 gene provides instructions for making RUNX1 protein, which plays a vital role in the production of blood stem cells and the maintenance of a healthy blood system throughout life. RUNX1-FPD patients have a hereditary mutation that causes symptoms such as bleeding and easy bruising, which can require limiting daily activities and cause allergic […]