Who could have predicted dance as the art form that would dominate reopening at the Center Stage Theater? Sure, the “black box” theater upstairs in Paseo Nuevo has been a happy home for several of the local dance companies that produce their own periodic performances and has also hosted a few festivals featuring revues. But […]
Lea másMonthly Archives: June 2021
She convulsed mightily standing watch on the fringe of her burrows. Her black milk ducts protruded through buff, tan fur as her belly full of rich milk warbled while she belted out a series of quavering trills warning her kits of potential danger. The watchful San Joaquin antelope ground squirrel (Ammospermophilus nelsoni) guarded her territory […]
Lea másThere was a time when the very word “toys” was magic to me, and the idea of a big department store, with a whole section devoted to them, was probably as close as I’ll ever come in this life to conceiving Heaven. Of course, there have always been children at play — and children must […]
Lea másEarlier this week the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors appointed Marshall Miller to the Montecito Planning Commission. His appointment was for the vacancy left by Charles Newman, who stepped down from the Commission at the end of his second term in December 2020. Growing up in Montecito, Miller attended All Saints, Montecito Union School, […]
Lea másFacing the second year of not being able to offer their students a yearly springtime trip to Boston, Crane Country Day School fifth-grade teachers Carrie Althoff and Ryan Long set out to “bring Boston to Montecito,” allowing their students the opportunity to have unique learning experiences. The Boston trip has been a rite of passage […]
Lea másLast week, Public Works representatives were in front of the Historic Landmarks Commission to present conceptual options related to the initial Mission Canyon Bridge Studies effort. The complicated project will ultimately enhance safety along the sensitive corridor and Mission Canyon Bridge, which spans Mission Creek and is located to the north of Mission Santa Barbara […]
Lea másI am troubled by the apparent conflicts-of-interest by attorney Marc Chytilo involving his lobbying for a major cannabis grower and Foothills Forever. The latter is a large community philanthropic effort involving the pro bono efforts of many attorneys, but one that Mr. Chytilo seeks primary credit. Last Wednesday, many in the First District were left […]
Lea más“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy wine and that’s kind of the same thing.” So says Bryan and Lisa Babcock, the owners of a winery in the Valley not far from Lompoc and nine miles past Buellton just off Highway 246. Bryan’s parents, Mona and Walter Babcock, purchased the 120-acre property and planted […]
Lea másIt was a meaty agenda at this month’s Montecito Association Board of Directors meeting, which featured updates on the Highway 101 expansion through Montecito, the beginning of Smart Meter technology at Montecito Water District, and updates on proposed state housing bills that could have a significant effect on Montecito. Kirsten Ayars with the 101 widening […]
Lea másThe past 18 months have been tough on the emotional body. Dealing with loss, bracing for the unknown, and shouldering through have all taken their toll. If you check in, chances are, you’ll find a layer of tension under a layer of fatigue. The tension is your body’s response to stress and distress; the fatigue […]
Lea másFaced with the pervasive pandemic protocols in the summer of 2020, the Music Academy of the West proved its mettle by coming up with MARLI — the Music Academy Remote Learning Institute — a technical wonder that allowed students and faculty to immerse themselves in learning and music making even if only virtually and in […]
Lea másThe course of life can be as wild and unpredictable as crashing waves. Yet, with a little curiosity, practice, and a touch of tenacity, one can weather the waves, surfing on top of their crest as you face the flow of life. For Gail Steinbeck, she has been surfing the waves of life since she […]
Lea másA new club launched by the wine team at the Rosewood Miramar Beach is aiming to elevate your at-home quaffing experience. The new Miramar Collective is a chance for fans of the Miramar experience — and any fan of fine wine — to access bottles whose premium caliber mirrors the wine list at Caruso’s, the […]
Lea másSan Francisco-based photographer Jay Blakesberg is a self-confessed Deadhead whose work has appeared everywhere from Rolling Stone, Guitar Player, Relix to Time, and Vanity Fair. Over a 40-plus-year career he has taken pictures of innumerable rock legends, including the Grateful Dead, Phish, Radiohead, Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, and Tom Waits, to […]
Lea másCruise ships are lined up and ready to sail… maybe. Yes, last week the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance that permits cruise ships to sail from U.S. ports provided that at least 95% of guests and 98% of crew have been vaccinated. This drops the requirement for test voyages without […]
Lea más“Improbable, but not impossible.” It became a rallying cry that the Foothills Forever campaign team leaned on since February 25, the day a lawsuit was negotiated to allow the community to rise and purchase 101 acres on the West Mesa of the San Marcos Foothills. Ninety days. $18 million. Quite improbable, but activists such as […]
Lea másEven the pricey horseflesh got upstaged at the Santa Barbara Polo Club when the La Boheme Dance company, colorfully dressed as courtesans from 18th century Versailles, held its cast and crew wrap party. The talented dancers, founded by director Teresa Kuskey Nowak, have participated in the Summer Solstice Parade for the past seven years, but […]
Lea más“When life gives you kids” is the catch phrase for a new store in Montecito called Lemondrop, located in the Upper Village. Owned by Montecito mom of four, Ana Rudnicki, the new shop caters to the pre-teen or “tween” set: kids between the ages of 8 and 14. “I know I am not the only […]
Lea másMeredith Cabaniss-Ventura, the Selah Dance Collective founder and artistic director, doesn’t remember where she first found the main word of her dance company other than remembering it’s featured heavily in the Bible in the Book of Psalms. But while she liked that the word isn’t directly translatable to English, one of the meanings struck her […]
Lea másThe Endowment for Youth Committee is one of the oldest nonprofits serving the needs of African American students and the greater Black community on the Central Coast, with a history that dates back 35 years. But before Guy R. Walker stepped in as executive director in 2015, the EYC had struggled to continue as a […]
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