Monthly Archives: December 2017

Fire in Montecito

A virtual army of nearly 6,500 firefighters, along with 30-plus helicopters, various other aircraft, fire trucks, bulldozers, and more are, as we write this, working in the back country, mostly out of sight, securing fire lines and control points by a combination of controlled backfires, soaking unburned vegetation, creating breaks where no dry foliage is […]

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No Doubting Thomas on Campus

Like most of the region, people at Westmont learned about the Thomas Fire following the massive power outage December 4 that thrust the entire campus and 1,200 students into darkness. The disruption continued into the morning hours as officials scrambled to fix infrastructure that crippled the college’s website and email servers.  Smoke from the blaze […]

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Yule’s Gold

With dozens of participants, Westmont College’s oh-so-popular 13th annual Christmas Festival at the First Presbyterian Church is undoubtedly the hottest ticket in town, with four performances staged to cater for the demand. With the full force of the Montecito college’s music talent on display, including the orchestra, women’s and men’s chorale, and the chamber singers, […]

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Think Pink

The Arlington Theatre was packed for the much-awaited return concert by Pink Martini, the Portland, Oregon, musicians making their eighth appearance here, all eight of which I have been lucky enough to see. The sold-out show, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series, featured Harvard graduate China Forbes on vocals singing a wide […]

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On the Money

It was just the ticket for this illustrious organ’s bridle correspondent Lynn Kirst when she attended the Dream Foundation’s annual gala at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. Lynn splashed out $200 for 10 raffle tickets at the popular fete and came up a winner, receiving a diamond and 18-carat gold necklace featuring an ancient Roman coin designed […]

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Cuba, Part II

We flew from Miami to the eastern edge of Cuba to Holguin and transferred by bus to Santiago de Cuba, one of the first European settlements in Cuba dating to 1514. It is said that all wars started in Santiago and ended there. A poet, essayist, and revolutionary, one of Cuba’s heroes is Jose Marti, […]

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Western Grebes Migrate into Santa Barbara

As Santa Barbara transitions into winter, various wildlife species adapt and move into the coastal waters for the season. Large populations of water birds such as western grebes migrate into the Santa Barbara Channel for wintertime. They are completing a migration pattern that can range from the Pacific Northwest in the spring and summer to […]

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Energy Beverage? I’ll Drink to That

Hitting the gym. The track. The links, or the courts, we do it because we want to gain muscle, and lose fat, but what else do we lose when working out? Our energy stores are depleted, and our bodies excrete fluids through perspiration. We need to replace those fluids and refuel our muscles too. Lately, […]

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Summer Classic: A Vacation on the Coast of Maine

“There’s No Such Thing as ‘Fun for the Whole Family’.” – Jerry Seinfeld Funny! … and true? Recently, I had the chance to run a field test. When I turned (a boyish) 70, my wife gave me a remarkable present: I could choose a trip anywhere in the world. My mind flooded with ideas: seeing […]

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Under the Mistletoe

Balloonacy reigned at the Coral Casino’s La Pacifica ballroom where hundreds of balloons festooned the ceiling of the oceanside hotspot for the 26th annual Catholic Charities Mistletoe Ball, which attracted 217 guests and raised around $100,000 for the 93-year-old organization serving 44,000 people with an annual budget of $1.8 million. The Yuletide beano, co-chaired by […]

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