30 Jul 2020
The Fish Reef Project
The kelp forests found along the Californian coast harbor abundant marine life, reduce ocean acidity, and even help support the plankton so vital for ocean health. While historically the Central Coast has been an area of lush kelp forests, the impact from damming of rivers, repeated droughts during El Niño years, and other environmental factors […]
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A Mighty Force
Missing. The anguish never goes away. Missing something or someone, it’s one of the great common denominators. No matter who you are or what you have, such deep loss is irretrievable. Nineteen months ago my beloved border collie dogs, eight-year-old Daisy and her one-year-old puppy companion Diesel, disappeared from my ranch in rural San Luis […]
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People of Montecito: Alex Ortiz
“I’m not really from here. I come from a city called Vallejo. It’s about thirty minutes north of San Francisco. It’s not a nice area; we don’t even have a community college there. Coming down here, it gives me the motivation to work hard. I see people living in this nice area and I want […]
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Dear Montecito: Clay Rodgers
As I write the introduction for today’s letter, I’m doing something I usually don’t do while I write and edit: listen to music. I’m listening to a funky, young album called The Deep End produced by a composing duo who recorded the whole thing in only two weeks. Today we’re hearing from rising artist, Clay […]
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Police Reform En Route?
Santa Barbara City Council looks into forming civilian review board The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer more than two months ago has shaken a nation that is still dealing with the fallout. Thousands of protesters remain in the streets of Portland in a tense standoff with police and federal agents […]
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Royal Flesh
It seems odd that, after centuries of agitation forequality, so many countries still have social systems in which some “royal” person is considered to be at the top. The word “royal” derives from the French word for king – and, although France no longer has a monarch, many other advanced countries still do. In fact, […]
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Homes in the $4 to $5 Million Range
The months of May and June, and now into July 2020, are proving to be the most active real estate months that many can remember in Montecito during the past 15+/- years. Whether it be Boomers flexing their buying muscle and finally committing to a place in Montecito, perhaps Ellen’s celebrity friends, the Bay Area […]
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‘Matter + Spirit’ Explores Chinese Art Scene
The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum, which remains closed to in-person visits due to COVID-19, offers an online exhibition, “Matter + Spirit: A Chinese/American Exhibition,” which reflects on the perennial tensions between the material and the spiritual in human life and in society, through August 15 at westmont.edu/museum/matter-spirit. The exhibition is a product of a gathering in […]
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New Director Focused to Reduce Risk
Jason Tavarez joined the Westmont community as director of institutional resilience in February 2020 and almost immediately began working to protect the college from the dangers of COVID-19. “My biggest concern has been keeping the coronavirus off our campus and doing everything we can, as a community, to keep our remaining students and employees safe […]
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23 Jul 2020
St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church – Part 1
St. Paul’s has been nominated to become a Santa Barbara City historic landmark 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 them. The African […]
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Walking Through It
When I was younger, I dreaded my parents’ weekend declaration of an impending family walk. I would plead to ride my bike alongside them; to run, skip, cartwheel, anything but walk. We would (slowly) stroll along the dirt path at the nearby Ennisbrook trail and my eyes would meander towards trees that needed climbing, streams […]
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The Webster Opens at Rosewood Miramar
Last week, the Rosewood Miramar Beach welcomed a new retailer to its grounds: The Webster, a luxury multi-brand retailer opened its first permanent boutique within a hotel property. The store was designed by the creative director of The Webster Home, Stéphane Parmentier. The 500-sq-ft storefront has elements of both “femininity and brutalist design,” with clothing […]
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Montecito Firefighters Donate AEDs
The Montecito Firefighters Charitable Foundation (MFCF) has donated two Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machines and response kits to Girls Inc. of Carpinteria. AED machines are portable, life-saving devices designed to treat people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. According to the FDA, the combination of CPR and early defibrillation is effective in saving lives when used in […]
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1/9 Debris Flow Rebuilding Updates
Construction concluded last week on a long-awaited repair following the 1/9 debris flow: a temporary bridge at the Cold Spring Trailhead that connects East Mountain Drive. Construction began in June to replace the bridge, and was paid for by settlement funds from Southern California Edison. The bridge will remain in place for approximately three years […]
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Mesa Burger Opens on Coast Village Road
Popular Santa Barbara eatery Mesa Burger has made its long-awaited debut on Coast Village Road, officially opening for business on Tuesday, July 21. “It’s been a long time coming,” said owner Chris Chiarappa when we stopped by the restaurant a few weeks before the opening, as Chiarappa was busy building a parklet to accommodate social […]
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Santa Barbara Courthouse: Part II
As my docent Courthouse tour continues, we have exited the Mural Room and walked into the Lobby just outside the door on the second floor. We see the nine-by-twelve-foot painting of the landing of Juan Cabrillo which Dan Groesbeck had painted in 1924 for County National Bank. It was influential in his being chosen to […]
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Twenty Years Behind the Mast
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum celebrates a milestone and sails into the future Back in 1994, a small group of divers, fishermen, and sailors began meeting at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club and the Breakwater Restaurant to start planning a museum that would “present and interpret the rich and diverse maritime history of the Santa Barbara […]
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SBCC Foundation Helps Hundreds of Students With Financial Burden
These days, Geoff Green‘s bed is more than just a place to sleep. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s now his office. Since he also sleeps there, he spends about 20 hours a day in his bedroom, exiting the cave only to eat or spend time with his family. His life is consumed by not only […]
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A Life Worth Living
WOW! It’s yet another week of rising COVID numbers as the country lurches forward and backward without any Federal leadership. This limbo period feels like it may never end. Well, in the dynamic context of conflicting realities of life and death, of abundance and growing homelessness, I’m writing today about living a meaningful life. Possibly […]
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