I just flew back from The Netherlands, and boy are my arms tired. This old sepia-toned quip still charms me with its Americanness – its nod to Henny Youngman and to the large, ornate pre-television radios families once gathered round, heads bent in rapt concentration. But, yeah. Holland is a round trip 20-hour journey through […]
Lea más“Shock and Awe” was the G. W. Bush term for his attack on Iraq in 2003. Trump’s Big Ugly Billionaire Bailout Bill (BUBBB) is a shock and awe attack against our own people. Perhaps this should be called “Shock and Awful.” The bill adds $3 trillion to the U.S. debt – almost all from tax […]
Lea másThrongs of people, er, dozens of people, er, okay one person in my humor workshop once asked me what skills it takes to be a humor writer. I leaned back and thought a while. “Excuse me, are you sleeping?” “Huh? Oh, ah, no, of course not, ha-ha, it’s one of the skills required for all […]
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My two grandchildren (both under six years) are now old enough to experience an art museum; thus I “family” membershipped the Santa Barbara Museum Art, the Maritime Museum, the Contemporary Art Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. I am ready for my second set of new eyes with which to […]
Lea másMindful Heart Programs’ Founder Dr. Radhule Weininger is teaming up with Santa Barbara Empathy Circles for a one-day retreat at Santa Barbara Middle School’s aptly named Lotus Theater on Saturday, July 12. Combining meditation with empathy circles, the event serves as an opportunity to put into almost immediate practice the compassion that is at the […]
Lea másNew York City Democrats just nominated a very woke socialist, Zohran Mamdani, for mayor. They say he has a good shot at winning. I’m not surprised. After all, NYC is a liberal/progressive bastion. They’ve already got AOC (Andrea Ocasio-Cortez), the Congresswoman representing much of the Bronx. Most democratic socialists want free stuff like health care, […]
Lea másIt’s a good bet that, unlike Scott Pingel, none of the other Music Academy of the West teaching artists on campus this summer have played a concert with the mega-selling rock band Metallica – or for that matter, any concert in front of some 20,000 people. It was back in September 2019 that double bassist […]
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Viva la Fiesta, Everyone! Brightly colored ruffles rim the hem of the traditional Spanish dress, fluttering fans and colorful confetti stirs the air to the strum of guitars, clicking castanets, and high heeled shoes. An entire city in excited preparation is a reminder that at month’s end Old Spanish Days will host Fiesta Week in […]
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Westmont has welcomed a herd of sheep to campus to eat non-native vegetation and reduce wildfire fuel in the barranca west of Voskuyl Library, adjacent to the dry Westmont Creek. Coordinated by Montecito Fire, the flock from Cuyama Lamb will eat their fill before the grasses dry out later this summer and have the potential […]
Lea másStu Cleek, who has more than 35 years of experience in Christian higher education, has been named vice president for student life at Westmont. “This is a significant and exciting moment for our campus community, and I’m deeply grateful for Stu’s legacy of faithful service during the past 26 years at Westmont,” said President Gayle […]
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Westmont has begun a national search for a new head coach of women’s tennis after Cade Pierson resigned July 3. Pierson, who was a two-time NAIA All-American while attending Westmont, had served as head coach since the 2022-23 school year. Her resignation brings an end to her overall Westmont tennis tenure that began as a […]
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Fifty years can teach you a lot about growing wine. These days, Fred Brander knows full well that Bordeaux grapes – reds like cabernet sauvignon and whites like sauvignon blanc – grow really well in the warm eastern stretches of the Santa Ynez Valley. But in the beginning – 50 years ago – it was […]
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The Theatre Group at SBCC opens its 80th season with Mel Brooks‘ musical adaptation of his own smash hit film Young Frankenstein in the first big professional production of the show that was boffo on Broadway, one that coincides with the 50th anniversary of the film earning an Oscar nomination. The plot finds Frederick Frankenstein […]
Lea másSBIFF’s annual French Wave Film Festival brings 11 new French films to the Riviera Theatre screening in repertory July 11-17, including multiple winners and nominees for César Awards (France’s Oscars) and movies that have screened at major film festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Venice. Among the highlights: The President’s Wife: Bernadette, which stars Catherine […]
Lea másMontecito drivers should prepare for significant traffic pattern changes asHighway 101 construction ramps up this July. As of June 28, newly constructed northbound lanes from Sheffield Drive to Hermosillo Road have opened, including a new auxiliary lane between San Ysidro and Olive Mill roads. Commuters can now access an improved northbound on-ramp at San Ysidro […]
Lea másBurglary / Boeseke Parkway — Monday, June 16, at 18:59 hours Residents came home after being away for the weekend and discovered entry had been made through a broken window on the back door. The suspects ransacked several rooms and stole three watches (two of them being Rolex) and a box of ammo. The victims […]
Lea másThe River is Waiting Wally Lamb is back with The River is Waiting and I am so excited for it. Full disclosure: I have not read this yet, but I can assure you if it’s half as good as any of his other heartbreaking books, this is bound to be a winner. If you read […]
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The Montecito Association’s Village 4th went full on with a longer parade route that officially started at the intersection of San Ysidro Road (SYR) and East Valley Road, then proceeded down SYR to Lower Manning Park. The parade route was packed with kids of all ages and dogs donning their best July 4th-inspired fashion statements. […]
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Bellosguardo – magnificent estate of the late reclusive tycoon Huguette Clark – and the Santa Barbara Symphony staged a landmark cultural event on July 4; the first ever outdoor Independence Day concert at the East Beach aerie. The sold-out event attracted more than 700 guests to the 90-minute performance on the estate’s seaside lawn overlooking […]
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After 23 years on the board of the Granada, philanthropist Sarah Chrisman – wife of fellow philanthropist Roger Chrisman – is retiring and was honored at a reception of the Birnam Wood home of fellow board member Leslie and Harrison Bains for 60 guests. “Sarah’s work has been important and inspiring,” said Caren Rager, the […]
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