25 Feb 2021
Montecito Community Leader Dan Eidelson Dies
If you’ve spent any time in Montecito, it’s a good bet Dan Eidelson’s community involvement efforts touched you. The long-time Montecito resident and prominent community leader died peacefully at his home on January 10, 2021 of non-COVID related causes. He was 89 years old. During his 35 years residing in Montecito, Eidelson was repeatedly drafted […]
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Montecito Family YMCA Launches Annual Fundraising Campaign
At 6 pm on February 17, Montecito’s beloved YMCA officially launched its annual fundraising campaign in an effort to help ensure that everyone in southern Santa Barbara County has access to community programs and resources that support youth development, healthy living, social responsibility, and struggling families. This year, the YMCA hopes to raise $120,000 to […]
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Talk Examines Climate Change, Biodiversity
Climate change and the threat it poses to humans has been well publicized. But we hear less about its effects on the multitude of other species on the planet. Amanda Sparkman, chair of the Westmont Biology Department, explores “A Snake in the Spring Rain: How Biodiversity is Responding to a Changing Climate” on Thursday, February […]
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Arts in Lockdown #20: The NAMM Show and She Rocks Awards 2021
NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) held its annual Los Angeles trade show online this year January 18 through 22, along with the annual She Rocks Awards. The NAMM Foundation’s Believe in Music bravely took to the virtual platform to bring all its usual content to its members across all time zones, using the Swapcard […]
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New MPC Commissioner to be Appointed
The Santa Barbara County Executive Office is seeking to fill a vacancy on the Montecito Planning Commission, effective immediately. The vacancy is left from the departure of Charles Newman, who stepped down from the Commission at the end of his second term in December. Newman was appointed to the Montecito Planning Commission in January 2017, […]
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The Beat Goes On
Resting easy in my tent, headlamp burning bright, I was putting pen to paper when I heard giant kangaroo rats (GKRs) communicating with one another throughout a star-filled night. From one grassland burrow to the next, the drum of their oversized feet tapped the ground at a feverish pace, sending a message to other GKRs […]
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Rejection
Being rejected is a basic human experience, for which most of us need to be better trained than we probably are. If you ask Mr. Google about rejections, he’ll give you many lists of famous and successful people who failed over and over again, but went on, and, through sheer persistence, became the stars and […]
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In Search of a Vaccine
This Friday, February 19, at 10:30 am, the Montecito Journal will host a Community Zoom Forum on the subject of our County’s COVID Vaccination Rollout. Present at this forum will be: Congressman Salud Carbajal, State Senator Monique Limón, County Supervisors Das Williams and Gregg Hart, Santa Barbara County Director of Public Health Van Do-Reynoso, and […]
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MJ Covid Town Hall
Montecito Journal sponsored Zoom Town Meeting designed to address your questions and concerns regarding Santa Barbara County’s COVID Vaccine Rollout Plan. Hour-long Virtual Town Meeting joined by Congressman Salud Carbajal, County Supervisors Das Williams and Gregg Hart, County Director of Public Health Van Do-Reynoso, Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg, and State Senator Monique Limón […]
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Longtime Montecito Cafe Waitress Subject of a Local GoFundMe Drive
A week ago, the former manager of the Montecito Inn’s Café, Arielle Chang, manager of the marketplace, gave notice to the Journal about the fate of Barbara Dutra, a manager of the restaurant who has fallen on hard times with stage four colon cancer. “Barbara has worked with us for fifteen years,” said Chang. “She […]
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City of Carpinteria Asks California for COVID-19 Economic Relief
On February 8, Carpinteria Mayor Wade Nomura sent a letter to State Senator Monique Limón asking for her support for a proposal to provide economic relief to local businesses based on economic losses per square footage. “Although some businesses in the city have been allowed to gradually reopen with protections in place, business activities within […]
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A Few of My Favorite Things
My tastes in most categories are very conventional, so most of my favorites probably will not surprise you. In poetry, for example, at the top of my personal list is the piece known as “Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard” – not to be confused with Gray’s Allergy. [Only kidding.] One reason I like it […]
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Sense of Place J. Wilkes Wines Focus on ‘Appellation Expression’
When I launched my wine writing career in Santa Barbara some 20 years ago, Jeff Wilkes was one of the first personalities I came to know. His enthusiasm for the wines he shared with me was infectious. And his energy and sense of humor made him a fantastic wine sipping companion. Wilkes was a salesman […]
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18 Feb 2021
Sepi Consignment Closes
After six years in business, Coast Village Road consignment boutique, Sepi, has closed. Owner Sepideh Babri took over the shop in early 2015, when it was named Matti & Me after then-owners Matti Bourgault and Wendy Nanon Smith.The high-end luxury consignment store featured women’s clothing, handbags, shoes and boots, belts, sunglasses, jewelry, and accessories, in […]
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American Riviera Bank Helps Local Businesses Obtain a Slice of Federal Stimulus
Sometimes it takes a global pandemic to highlight the crucial role that community banks play in rescuing local businesses from the economic nightmare that comes with a year-long statewide shutdown. For American Riviera Bank (ARB), which opened in 2006 thanks to about 400 local shareholders who put up roughly $25 million in start-up cash, the […]
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Our Solar System: Saturn
30 June 2004, 7:30 pm. The VIP room at JPL is quiet as we all watch a thin line trace horizontally across the big screen at the front of the room. It’s the radio signal from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft as it speeds toward Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) after seven years in transit. JPL invites some […]
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Historian Nancy Koehn Speaks on Courageous Leadership
A celebrated Harvard historian and bestselling author, Nancy Koehn will discuss courageous and principled leadership at the 16th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast on Friday, March 5, at 8 am. Tickets to the virtual event, which cost $35, go on sale February 12 at westmont.edu/breakfast. Koehn, the James E. Robison professor of business administration at the Harvard […]
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Buckle Up
Interesting concept, as per last week’s lead piece of this newspaper. Having a COVID vaccination czar in Santa Barbara. It would be even worth investigating if it weren’t so hypocritical and so self centered for this particular newspaper to bring the subject matter up. Two weeks ago MJ’s investigative reporter Nicholas Schou pointed out, what […]
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Search Dog Foundation: Finding Diamonds in the Ruff
National Disaster Search Dog Foundation has had tremendous success in rescuing rambunctious shelter dogs and turning them into highly-trained rescue canine workers who, teamed with human partners, help find survivors buried in disaster wreckage while they’re still alive. It’s a story that’s both heartwarming on every level and awe-inspiring in its purpose and efficiency. But, […]
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