Celebrate the Winter Solstice with meditation with Sarah McLean – the 25-year veteran contemporary meditation and mindfulness teacher who co-founded the new Montecito Meditation Center. Participants will be guided into a solstice meditation practice to welcome the dark on the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and let go of what doesn’t […]
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The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) had 250 of its members gathered for lunch at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. What do they do? “The Association represents more than 30,000 fundraisers in 230 chapters throughout the world, working to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education, and certification programs. The Association fosters the development and […]
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The Lobero Theatre is a much used venue, being booked 250 or more days a year. Among artists it’s beloved for the acoustics and is also a California Historic Landmark. Its humble beginning was as an opera house converted from an adobe school building by Jose Lobero in 1873. By the 1920s, being a bit […]
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The “Christmas at the Casa” gala this year was all about silver. Silver cloths on all the tables with greens sprayed silver and lighted cabinets on display filled with pieces of silver George Steedman had made in the ‘30s and ‘40s. He’s known to have made about one hundred pieces between 1927 and 1940, when […]
Lea másThe standing room-only crowd that filled Montecito Union School’s meeting hall on the evening of December 5 wanted one thing above all else: good news. And by and large, that’s what they got from the group of city, state, and federal officials who presented their latest findings on both the winter weather forecast and the […]
Lea másStephen Dombek had the unusual experience of hearing one of his compositions from the audience when the Quire of Voyces performed his setting of “Hodie – Christus Natus Est (Today Christ is Born)” at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art at December’s 1st Thursday art walk. Normally, Dombek would have been among the baritone section […]
Lea másA Campaign Query Why have so many of us suddenly and recently received political campaign solicitations from Das Williams, when we haven’t heard from him in years? And why are people who didn’t sign up to get official County updates from him now suddenly receiving them? Is he co-mingling his official e-mail lists with his […]
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On Sunday, December 8, 2019, Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation celebrated the life of Robert William Jansen, a decorated veteran of the Korean War, Purple Heart recipient, and Santa Barbara philanthropist. Robert was born in Los Angeles in 1930 and came of age when military service was required of young men. He joined the Navy when […]
Lea másIn a little more than 80 days (March 3) we will have the opportunity to vote for, among other things, one of two candidates vying for the First District Santa Barbara County Supervisor seat: the incumbent Das Williams or his challenger, Laura Capps. Why does this election matter to the nine thousand plus residents of […]
Lea másMany children’s games involve “counting out” rhymes for choosing one or more of the players for some special role. Everybody probably knows some version of the one that begins, “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.” But there is just one other such rhyme of which I retain a possibly fragmentary memory. And although there are probably many […]
Lea másSince the beginning of humanity, people have been using technology to understand and influence fire. Fire speaks to our primal nature yet remains an uncontrollable natural force and an inherent part of our ecosystem. As technology and civilization has increased over time, the role that fire plays in our lives continues to grow. Over the […]
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Sales of sparkling wines are on the rise right now, historically soaring between the Thanksgiving and New Year’s holidays. Sparklers connote celebration, of course. They’re a great option to have on hand for rich holiday meals, too, since the effervescence in every sip cleanses the palate of the richness in every bite. The French and […]
Lea másLeadership Vacuum Q. Why are there so many stores downtown that are empty? There are other towns like San Luis Obispo and Palm Springs that have made successful efforts. Why isn’t Santa Barbara doing more? – Mathew in Montecito Clearly, there are problems with downtown retail struggling all over the country as online purchasing grows […]
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Hundreds of alumni and community members attended the 18th annual Westmont Pickle Tree Lighting on December 3 at Kerrwood Lawn. Santa Claus posed for pictures inside Kerrwood Hall as the Cold Spring School Choir and the Ahh-Men, Westmont’s talented a cappella group, kicked off the event singing Christmas carols. Students donned festive attire while enjoying […]
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The Westmont Music Department added a Saturday matinee to its 15th annual Christmas Festival schedule after tickets to the first three performances sold out in about a week. Tickets are available for the concert on Saturday, December 14, at 2 pm in First Presbyterian Church at westmont.edu/christmasfestival. The festival, which retells the Christmas story by […]
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Westmont volleyball made history during a remarkable run through the NAIA National Championship Tournament that ended with a heartbreaking loss in a nationally televised championship game from Sioux City, Iowa. The unranked Warriors fell to No. 11 Marian (IN) 25-20, 25-20, 25-21, becoming National Runner-Ups. First-year head coach Ruth McGolpin guided the team to the […]
Lea másFlaggers and construction crews will be on Coast Village Road throughout the rest of the week, installing conduit and electrical lines across the crosswalk on the 1150 block of the street. “We know it is a nuisance to local businesses,” said Coast Village Association board president Bob Ludwick, “But we also know it’s important to […]
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On Monday, December 9, at Montecito Hall, Bucket Brigade co-founder Abe Powell hosted a Resiliency Workshop in order to roll out the organization’s newest mission: to help neighborhoods build hyper local resiliency in Montecito and beyond. “We are in a time where there is a huge opportunity for neighborhoods to build resilience, in what we […]
Lea másWhile decades ago, meditation and mindfulness might have been considered a New Age distraction for woo-woo Californians, the practices have clearly been adopted as mainstream by individuals, businesses, families and other organizations. The medical, emotional, and spiritual benefits are palpable, but perhaps still somewhat difficult to grasp. Integrating those two has been a two-decade-plus passion […]
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Montecito Bank & Trusts’ MClub spent an evening with Santa Barbara Symphony music and artistic director Nir Kabaretti. It began in the Founders room of the Granada for light bites and wine and a chance to meet and greet Janet Garufis, who is the Symphony board chair and CEO of MB&T, and Kevin Marvin, president […]
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