This is a good time to be looking for an upper-price range home in Montecito, as there are many well-priced properties available in the $4.5-to-$15 million range on the market. Some “done” homes for sale are the result of a developer’s remodel, and others were on the market a while ago and are being reintroduced, […]
Lea másMonthly Archives: October 2018


Following two days of much-needed rain, the sun came through for October’s 1st Thursday art walk, humming with crowded streets, galleries, and clubs. The art headliner was the Sullivan Goss Gallery exhibit tracing the history of assemblage art in Santa Barbara from 1956-2018, aptly titled THE RED-HEADED STEPCHILD and curated by art historian and Gallery […]
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The Music Academy of the West’s [MAW] esteemed Women’s Auxiliary [MAWWA] under the dynamic leadership of chair Evie Vesper, is launching a new direction for the first time in 47 years, with its first – and soon to be annual – Music in the Garden event on Sunday, October 21, at the academy. The occasion […]
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Santa Barbara Beautiful hosted its 54th annual awards celebration Growing Resiliency at the Music Academy of the West for 200 guests. The fab fete, co-chaired by Mark Whitehurst and Kerry Methner, and emceed by ubiquitous KEYT-TV reporter John Palminteri, donated half of the day’s proceeds to the Montecito Trails Foundation, one of the event’s honorees, […]
Lea másFew people today recognize the name Joe De Yong. Those who do, dimly remember he was the deaf artist protégé of Charles Russell and lived and worked in Santa Barbara for a time painting, drawing, and sculpting iconic Western images. Still fewer remember he also worked for years as technical advisor on dozens of Western […]
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Santa Barbara County firefighters are blazing a trail with their first Foam Fest in Carpinteria on Saturday, with a foam board surf contest followed by a benefit concert at the Padaro Beach Grill with local groups King Zero and Cornerstone. The boffo beach bash, with costumes encouraged, is being organized by Santa Barbara district attorney […]
Lea más37 cents of every dollar received by the Montecito Water District (MWD) from our customers goes to the Central Coast Water Authority (CCWA) for our State Water deliveries. The CCWA operates and maintains the Central Coast water transmission system that brings northern California water all the way to Lake Cachuma. Since 1997, CCWA has delivered […]
Lea másRestaurateurs Doug Margerum and Mitchell Sjerven have sold their interest in the historic Santa Barbara eatery The Wine Cask. Doug, also a noted winemaker, is also opening a new Margerum tasting room in the Hotel Californian next year, he tells me. “It will be a spectacular space with 22-foot-high ceilings, a kitchen, heated patio, and […]
Lea másby Woody Barrett, Dana Newquist, Ken Coates, Brian Goebel and Cori Hayman The Montecito Water and Sanitary Districts are defined as special districts, each led by a five-person, publicly elected board of directors. According to the handbook for special district governance and operations, board members must “serve the best interests of the community, provide services […]
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Jim and Stephanie Sokolove opened their beautiful Montecito estate, just a tiara’s toss from TV talk show titan Oprah Winfrey, for the fourth consecutive year to host the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s seventh annual Table of Life beano, chaired by Montecito Bank & Trust head honcho Janet Garufis, with more than 260 colorfully garbed […]
Lea másMontecito has been my home since 1984. Like most, I sought this paradise that has been adopted by many for the natural beauty and semi-rural charm we cherish. Montecito is a magical place. After selling my Chain of Computer Stores in 1985, I sought another venture that I would enjoy. For me, joy comes from […]
Lea másChristmas came early when Chris Toomey threw a pre-Mistletoe Ball pizza party at his Carpinteria aerie, complete with Yuletide carols, for supporters of the Catholic Charities of Santa Barbara, our Eden by the Beach’s oldest social services agency, which helped more than 12,000 people county-wide last year. The festive fete, which has been held at […]
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Man and his machines form the basic elements of Cirque Mechanics, the modern company founded 14 years ago by former BMX bike champion Chris Lashua, who began by creating an innovative aerial apparatus. In his and his team’s vision, circus certainly has acrobatics and clowning around, but also is rooted in realism achieved by the […]
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A large tent had been erected to protect the 420 guests at the sold-out 16th Gold Ribbon lunch for the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation at the Biltmore from the blazing sun, but it served an entirely different purpose when the heavens opened, deluging the tony beachside hostelry in a rare rainstorm. Silent auction items had […]
Lea másEarth’s oceans breathe in carbon dioxide when it gets colder and exhale carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when it gets warmer. This happens because cold water absorbs more CO2 than hot water, and that is why Coca-Cola quickly loses its fizz when it gets warm. Al Gore yelled “global warming fire” on a crowded planet […]
Lea másFrench culture consistently impresses American culture with art, poetry, literature, theatre, fashion, and architecture; but the French take their sweets and pastries just as seriously as Monet took his paintings. Every four years, France holds a “craftsman competition” called Meilleur Ouvrier de France (“Best Worker in France”). The contest is open to pastry chefs who […]
Lea másI mean “Fools” here in the Shakespearian sense of clowns or jesters – in our day, professional comics, who make a living making us laugh. The most successful of these are highly paid, so much so that they can afford to hire other people to write jokes for them. As for jewels, the best ones […]
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The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) opened its doors to a new exhibit. As executive director Greg Gorga told the visitors, “This is the largest exhibit the museum has ever had. The History of Oil in Santa Barbara Channel has been planned for many years.” As we all know when we come home from a […]
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The MClub from Montecito Band & Trust held another Lunch & Learn event at the Santa Barbara Club; this time with author Hattie Beresford speaking about her new book, The Way it Was – Santa Barbara Comes of Age. Hattie has written a local history column for the Montecito Journal for the past 12 years […]
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MOXI The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation Museum was the place to be when they held their MOXI Night In Motion to raise funds for the new Community Partners Membership program. “They will be able to provide free and reduced admission for thousands of underserved students, teachers, and families and set curious minds in […]
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