29 Nov 2018
Vamos to Vicenta’s
Vicenta’s is the latest eatery from prolific restaurateur Carlos Luna, who opened his first nosheteria in 2008 aged just 27, and now includes five branches of Los Agaves and Santo Mezcal on State Street. The 160-seat Mexican restaurant in Goleta was quite bustling when I went for lunch with my trusty shutterbug, Priscilla, and dined […]
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Community Dividends Awards
Montecito Bank & Trust celebrated the 16th anniversary of its Community Dividends Awards, with 188 non-profits sharing $1 million, at the Coral Casino. The program, started by the bank’s founder and philanthropist Michael Towbes, has donated $16 million since its inception. Mike, who died two years ago, used to describe it as “my favorite day […]
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Commending Quaid
Actor Dennis Quaid, who was in our Eden by the Beach for the FestForums annual conference at the Hilton, took time out after receiving his Lifetime Achievement Award to tour the ShelterBox tent and talk at length with chief honcho, Kerri Murray. “He is very passionate about helping kids and vulnerable children around the world,” […]
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A Community of Heroes
The Coral Casino suffered major social gridlock when the Montecito Firefighter’s Charitable Foundation threw its 101st anniversary Thanksgiving celebration with the 250 guests raising more than $150,000. Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner, who owns the oceanside venue, was honored with a community hero award, as were Abe Powell of the Bucket Brigade, Taiana Giefer of […]
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Let There be Light
The imposing lobby of Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner’s Biltmore was packed with parents and children when the Four Seasons hotel held its colorful annual Christmas tree lighting by two of its front desk staffers, Laura Bae and Matthew Escarcega. A dozen members of the Santa Barbara High School Madrigals, suitably attired in Dickensian costume, […]
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Thanks-Giving
The Rescue Mission, which is currently undergoing a $10 million renovation, had a lot to be thankful for when city officials issued it a permit of occupancy for its annual Thanksgiving feast in the 50-year-old institution’s refurbished chapel just five days before the event. “It was cutting it fine, but our normal dining room and […]
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You Can Go Back
Who says you can’t go back? I did and had a fabulous time reminiscing the old and enjoying the new with my husband, Don. That was in Coronado, California, where I was a new bride “a thousand years ago.” My then-husband Cork was a Navy carrier pilot who was stationed at North Island in Coronado. […]
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Exhibition, Sale the Work of ‘Creative Hands’
More than 30 talented members of the Westmont Art Council will exhibit and sell their artwork at “Creative Hands: Highlights from the Westmont Art Council” Nov. 29- Dec. 22 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum. An opening reception and holiday art sale is Thursday, November 29, from 4-6 pm at the museum. “We are so grateful […]
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Westmont Adds Four-Year Engineering Major
Westmont will offer a Bachelor of Science in engineering with a concentration in mechanical engineering beginning in fall 2019, blending a mix of courses in engineering, physics, mathematics, and chemistry and grounding the program in the college’s liberal arts tradition. The new major continues Westmont’s tradition of cultivating innovation, collaboration, problem-solving, and moral discernment in […]
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Roost
The State Street locale that was home to Downey’s for 35 years has been quietly operating as a fresh new concept since May of this year. Owned and operated by Jim Mishler, Roost offers a fresh and simple menu for both lunch and dinner. Mishler has been a mainstay in the local restaurant scene for […]
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History Never Ends Released
After years of preparation and research, the third and final volume of historian David Myrick’s History of Santa Barbara and Montecito series is set to be released next week. Published by the Montecito Museum, the non-profit in charge of Myrick’s personal archives following his passing in 2011, this volume, titled History Never Ends, brings the […]
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Light Up a Life
Hospice of Santa Barbara is celebrating 35 years of its popular and poignant series of tree lighting events, called Light Up a Life. This year, Hospice has announced the addition of a fourth ceremony location: Montecito’s upper village, on the corner green. “We’ve been wanting to add a Montecito location for awhile, and it felt […]
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Revised Evacuation Map
On Monday, December 3, the County Office of Emergency Management is set to release a revised Debris Flow Risk Map, which includes revisions to current evacuation zones. The release of the map will be followed by three community meetings in Montecito and Carpinteria in the coming weeks. The County released the current Debris Flow […]
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Newer Montecito Listings
We have seen slower sales (only five closed escrows in Montecito during the first three weeks in November), and fewer new listings. Whether this is seasonal or an overall slowing market trend in higher end communities only time will tell. For now, we are happy to see prices staying strong overall, regardless of the number […]
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Banned Camp: Kronos Quartet Sounds Off
The Kronos Quartet has never shied away from controversy. Over the course of its 45-year history, the ensemble has exploded any previous notion of the limitations of the string quartet, embracing everything from ultra-modern composers and unfamiliar sounds to wildly unexpected and some would say edgy collaborations, most recently with “Sight Machine,” a multimedia piece […]
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Poor Old Charlie
For some reason the memory of silent-film star Charlie Chaplin is exploited with the fantastical myth that he “built” the Montecito Inn. Totally untrue. In David Myrick’s definitive history (“Santa Barbara & Montecito,” Volumes I and II), he explains the origin of the Montecito Inn in some detail. “Don B. Sebastian and William S. Seamans,” […]
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Dive into the Divine with the innerU
In a world of more than 7.5 billion people, falling into a rhythm that takes futile energy and subtly deters our hearts and minds away from our most authentic inner-self is as common as a misleading commercial on that crafty screen called the television. Material acceptance from ourselves and our peers is the external happiness […]
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A Man and His Crafts
One of our favorite subjects – physicist, friend, balloonist extraordinaire, and all-around good fellow, Professor Julian Nott – is headlining one of our favorite annual events: Channel City Club’s Annual Christmas Luncheon. The luncheon will be held at the Hilton Beachfront Resort (formerly Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort) on Monday, December 3, and will feature not […]
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SCRUPLES
As far as I know, God never bothers about what’s right and what’s wrong. Even so, we’ve always been gifted with self-professed intermediaries, from the days of Moses descending Mount Sinai bearing holy commandments inscribed on tablets of stone, all the way to the “televangelists” of today, telling us in no uncertain terms how God […]
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Pilgrim’s Progress
Nearly 400 years ago on August 5, 1620, two wooden sailing ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell, set off from England headed for the New World. Unfortunately, the Speedwell leaked at 300 miles out, forcing both ships to turn back to England. The Speedwell’s passengers were rapidly transferred to the already overcrowded Mayflower, which finally […]
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