Monthly Archives: July 2020

St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church – Part II

St. Paul’s has been nominated for inclusion on the list of Santa Barbara City historic landmarks and is working toward state and national recognition as well. Organized by architect Robert Ooley, F.A.I.A., a group of volunteers has been gathering historic information about the church to support the nominations; I was lucky enough to be among […]

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Montecito Sanitary District Latest

The project being proposed at the Montecito Sanitary District campus was also at MBAR last week, for further conceptual review of a new Essential Services Building and associated improvements. Architect Brian Cearnal outlined the project, which includes a new 5,000-sq-ft Essential Services building with a new 17-space parking lot, lighting and landscaping, multiple solar canopies, […]

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Coral Casino Plans at MBAR

Last Thursday, July 23, representatives from the Coral Casino were in front of the Montecito Board of Architectural Review presenting alterations to the private club, which has been closed for several months during the COVID-19 pandemic. While rumors continue to swirl over owner Ty Warner’s ultimate plans for the Coral Casino (as well as the […]

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On the Art of Camouflaging Rocks

After moving north to Montecito from Long Beach 10 years ago so that his family could be closer to the mountains and the sea at the same time, Tim Sulger began hiking the local canyons above his home near Westmont College. A decade into what has become a near daily routine, the daytime options trader […]

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Arts, Lectures, and More

Planning for future events in the face of the pandemic continues to be a major challenge for all arts organizations. Some have chosen to sit out the upcoming 2020-21 season (among them Camerata Pacifica) while others are cautiously rejiggering their bookings in hopes of being able to stage socially distanced performances after the first of […]

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SB Event Co.: Setting the Stage for Custom Dining

Uneasy about dining outdoors in public? Bring the chef to your home for an intimate social distance gathering with loved ones On a recent sunny afternoon, Chas Escalante, SB Event Co.’s co-founder and chef, takes a tape measure in hand to assess spacing for a backyard barbecue at a home perched atop the Riviera. Just […]

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Airplant Alchemy

In the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the candy mastermind’s base of operations first appears as a nondescript, smoke-stacked factory with no obvious hints outside as to what goes on inside. But something does; and passersby want to know what. Carpinteria’s Airplant Alchemy is like that. Owned and operated by Brian Kollenborn, a […]

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Fox and Friends

The ears were a dead giveaway. As the morning sun warmed the grasslands of California’s Central Valley, it was the large, backlit ears of a San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) that caught my eye. Red blood vessels braiding like a red river lit up each of the fox’s ears, allowing the smallest canid […]

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Half-Century on the Sea

Condor Express Celebrates its Roots Early on, local legend Fred “Captain Fred” Benko, developed a keen interest in what was in the Santa Barbara Channel: the fish, the birds, the oceanic wildlife. A half century ago, that interest led Fred to buy sports fishing operation located in the harbor across from the Navy Pier beneath […]

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