With the major local theater companies at rest in January, three smaller organizations are opening productions this weekend with wildly divergent genres. The newly-formed HappySad Theatre Company – from Santa Barbara-raised, SBCC-acting educated Robert Rodarte and his wife, Riley, who met at Circle in the Square Theatre School on Broadway in New York – launches […]
Lea másThe big news since we last mentioned the upcoming 41st annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (excluding the big January 14 announcement of the film screenings and such – frustratingly slated to drop well past our deadline, ahem) is the addition of a trio of true superstar actors collectively receiving the newly-named Hammond Cinema Vanguard […]
Lea másEach month, the magnificent Montecito garden expresses its appreciation of the community by offering a limited number of half-price tickets exclusively for Santa Barbara County residents. Reservations open for the year’s first batch of these Community Access Tickets on Lotusland’s events page January 20. If you’re hankering to do more than just look at the […]
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The Montecito community gathered on January 9 for Raising Our Light, the annual remembrance ceremony honoring the 23 lives lost in the 1/9 Debris Flow. The crowd assembled outside Montecito Union School, where speakers offered personal reflections and the names of the victims were read aloud. Twenty-three bells rang across local churches and schools, and […]
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Montecito Journal’s Richard Mineards is recovering nicely and sends his pip pips and gratitude to everyone who has reached out. New Chancellor and Two Nobel Prize Wins for UCSB Chancellor Dennis Assanis begins his work as the sixth chancellor of UCSB starting January 2026. He is spending his first weeks around campus meeting with students […]
Lea másElder Abuse / 100 block of Evans Ave — Tuesday, January 06, at 13:00 hours Deputies responded to a report of an adult son causing issues at his father’s home. The reporting party, his father, advised that his son was in the home refusing to leave and had an active warrant for his arrest. The […]
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What happens when ocean mist meets mountain light? When a brush meets canvas, and local talent meets natural wonders? Where the Mountains Meet the Sea, a new exhibition of landscape paintings by 12 predominately Santa Barbara-based artists, is soon to be on view from January 22 through March 29, 2026. This absolutely ‘must see’ display, […]
Lea másEditors Note: Every now and then, a story comes along that refuses to stay put. It lingers on your nightstand. It sneaks into conversation. For us, Last Light in Paradise is one of those stories, and we’re delighted to let it loose, one chapter at a time, in the pages of the Montecito Journal. Well, […]
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As the eighth anniversary of the 1/9 Debris Flow approaches, the January storms served as a stark reminder of the power of natural weather events and the lasting impact they have had on the area. The Montecito community will gather on Friday, January 9, at 6 pm for Raising Our Light, the annual remembrance ceremony […]
Lea másThe wondrous origins of life have long been debated. Was life manufactured by a Loving, Purposeful Designer (Creationism), or did life emerge from a Tiresomely Sluggish, Eons-Long Series of Hollering, Arm-Waving, Self-Correcting Accidents (Evolutionary Darwinism)? These positions would seem to be mutually exclusive, yet there are skittish wafflers (with all due respect) unwilling to commit. […]
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As part of my weekly reporting on the Montecito Fire Protection District, particularly with an active rainy season underway, I noticed a banner on the district’s website advertising an opening for a new fire chief. When I wrote about the vacancy for News Bytes, I reached out to Fire Chief David Neels to confirm what […]
Lea másMellow. That seemed to be the word used most frequently when I asked friends and peers about their New Year’s Eve. Other years have seen glittering, largely silly, soirées that wrap with a costumed walk to East Beach as the year’s first sun rises. And sure, I had some friends raging in the rain this […]
Lea másThere’s something entirely appropriate about the upcoming Peace Sticks workshop taking place near Kids’ World in Alameda Park. That’s because the practice puts partners together to silently toss the painted sticks back and forth in various combinations that highlight connection through movement and play – something with which kids are quite familiar – and cultivates […]
Lea másMelissa Costello, certified Equine Facilitated Learning Coach through the HERD Institute and Certified Counselor of Spiritual Psychology through the University of Santa Monica, has scheduled a four-week Sacred Horse Sister Circle as a January journey. The Sacred Horse Sister Circle, which takes place Wednesday afternoons January 14-February 4, is an intimate coaching group limited to […]
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Daniel Giraud Elliot was the preeminent American ornithologist of the late 19th century. He was a founder of the American Museum of Natural History and later served as curator of zoology at the Field Museum in Chicago. Using his personal fortune, he published lavishly illustrated books on birds and animals. The illustrations were executed first […]
Lea másThe recent and devastating news surrounding the deaths of Rob and Michelle Reiner – allegedly at the hands of their son, Nick – has left many people stunned, grieving, and searching for answers. According to reports, Nick Reiner has lived with serious mental illness and substance use challenges for many years and had cycled through […]
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My client, a collector of authentic Hermès Carré Foulard 90 cm silk twill, hand-colored scarves, frames many of them on her walls. Those not on display are kept in their distinctive slim orange boxes. By the mid-20th century, Hermès scarves were favored by figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, and Grace Kelly. […]
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The Birth Center at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital announced the arrival of baby Isla at 4:41 am on Thursday, January 1, 2026, making her the hospital’s first baby born in the new year. Isla is the first child of her parents, Jessica and Laurence. She weighed 9 pounds and measured 20.5 inches at birth. While […]
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Written by Sarah Ettman-Sterner Montecito rang in the New Year with glam, goodwill, and a dash of Monte Carlo flair at Mary and Bob Gates’ “Carriage House of Pepper Hill,” the beautifully restored 1916 estate they call home. Nearly 100 guests arrived dressed to the nines, stepping into a courtyard washed in blue and green […]
Lea másWritten by Sarah Ettman-Sterner La Lieff kept spirits high and tails wagging at its 2nd Annual Jingle Paws Dog Show & Holiday Party, where pups and their people arrived decked out in festive finery. The red carpet doubled as a catwalk – well, dogwalk – as every four-legged star strutted off with a special award. […]
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