28 Apr 2026
Pet Nannies: Full Time for Four Legs
The rise of the “pet nanny” might sound like a novelty (or even a novel), but spend a few minutes inside the world of high-end domestic staffing and the picture sharpens into something far more nuanced. The increasingly important role reflects a rising need – a quiet and highly specialized system designed to support households […]
Lea más
Keeping It Rael and Celebrating “Mexcellence”
The new Riv design mag “The Long Road from Prada Marfa to Montecito” is finally out. The Riv always has its finger on the design pulse, and if there’s not a story in there that gets your juices flowing, you might want to check your own pulse. What you’ll find between the heavy card stock […]
Lea más
Montecito Fire and LPFA Alert on Rattlesnake Bites, and More
Montecito Fire has done two rescues of people with snake bites in April so far. They are urging everyone to be vigilant. Montecito Fire reports, “April 12, at 3:38 pm, the Montecito Fire Emergency Team responded to the Buena Vista Trail for an injured hiker who was reportedly bitten by a rattlesnake. The female hiker […]
Lea más
Heal the Ocean
Heal the Ocean began back in August 1998 shortly after Hillary Hauser published an editorial in the Santa Barbara News-Press called “Another Day at the Beach?” following closure of local beaches due to unsafe bacteria levels. The citizens’ action group turned official 501(c)3 nonprofit quickly came to fame for its 15-year effort known as the […]
Lea más
10th Annual Explore Ecology’s Environmental Stewardship Awards
The 10th annual Environmental Steward Awards by Explore Ecology were presented at an informal luncheon on Thursday, April 16, at the Cabrillo Pavilion for the second year in a row. The awards were established in 2016 by EE Executive Director Lindsay Johnson and Marketing/Communications Director Jill Cloutier and coincided with the annual SB Earth Day […]
Lea más
April Board Meeting with Hands Across Montecito Update
The Montecito Association Board of Directors held its April meeting with a featured annual update on Hands Across Montecito (HAM), the community’s coordinated homeless outreach initiative, alongside regular reports from local agencies and updates on key Association priorities. Representatives from CityNet and Earthcomb, core partners in the HAM program, presented a comprehensive look at the […]
Lea más
Music and Meditation x 2 and More Spirituality Matters
The Music & Meditation Santa Barbara series co-founded by pianist Antonio Artese winds up its quite successful first full season next month when flutist Jill Felber joins the pianist in a one-hour offering that brings together the timeless beauty of live music with the calming practice of guided meditation. Each concert is designed as a […]
Lea más
Twice the Taylor, All the Fun and More Granada Happenings
Why would anyone choose to go to the Granada on Saturday night for Santa Barbara Records’ second annual Locals & Legends concert, “Celebrating the Music of James Taylor,” when the iconic 78-year-old singer-songwriter himself will be in town just 11 days later? Well, there’s several reasons aside from the fact that tickets to Taylor’s sold-out […]
Lea más
Same Sh*t, Different Generation
Carole Eglash-Kosoff might be older than your grandmother, but a cursory peek at the title of her new one-woman show, I’ve Seen This Sh*t Before, makes it clear this is not your typical grandmother’s type of theater. Eglash-Kosoff swears constantly throughout the 92-minute show – yes, timed to match her age – but that’s just […]
Lea más
High Schools Stage Spring Musicals
Springtime means flowers, sunshine, and thoughts of romance, but (at least in the area high school’s theater departments) it’s also the season for massive musical undertakings, bringing Broadway shows into the on-campus auditoriums. As in all years, the three big public schools have staggered their shows, with each having only a single overlapping weekend, meaning […]
Lea más
Time to Make your Music Academy Plans
Changes have been sprouting up fast and furious in the less than three years since Shauna Quill took over at Music Academy of the West as president and CEO, including big turnovers in faculty, some trimming and realignment of the performances and master classes, as well as a staffing reconfiguration, including new Vice President of […]
Lea más
All’s Fair at the Showgrounds
The Santa Barbara Fair & Expo returns to Earl Warren Showgrounds for its 2026 event, once again spanning two long weekends – April 23-26 and May 1-3 – and bursting with entertainment, animals, activities and (of course) screaming good times at the carnival. This year’s theme of “Your Beach Town Fair” celebrates Santa Barbara’s coastal […]
Lea más
Sheriff’s Blotter — 93108
Stolen Piano / 400 block Barker Pass Road — Monday, April 06, at 13:51 hours In March of 2023, the victim hired a piano moving company to pick up a piano (valued at about $5,000) and store it in the company’s storage facility somewhere in Los Angeles. The victim has paid moving and storage fees […]
Lea más
A Lepidochrome Print of Hyalophora Cecropia
Looking at this moth “picture” may topple you into the uncanny valley – it’s mostly a real moth, from a species now known as Hyalophora cecropia. This page from a rare book in the library at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History features an astounding type of print: a lepidochrome. For each image, a prepared […]
Lea más
Meet Montecito’s New Fire Chief
On April 1, the Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors formally appointed Brian Fallon as Fire Chief following Chief David Neels’ retirement on March 31. As Montecito Fire’s Public Information Officer, I sat down with Chief Fallon to learn more about him and what he hopes to accomplish at the helm of our organization. […]
Lea más
‘Stand by Mother’ Screening Draws Packed Crowd and More News Bytes
The Alcazar Theatre was filled to capacity for a special Earth Day-inspired screening of Stand by Mother, a family-friendly environmental film created by director Kerrilee Gore in collaboration with ShelterBox USA. The fantasy film, starring Emmett Long and Disney Channel actor Dakota Lotus, delivers a message of environmental stewardship, empathy, and youth empowerment. The event […]
Lea más
Sandspit Convergence
The incoming tide and building westerly swell were sweeping across a broad, gritty sandspit at the mouth of Drakes Estero at Point Reyes National Seashore. As I steadied my kayak inside a counterclockwise eddy, it was the only spot that was relatively calm among a surging rip tide and cresting waves. The sea conditions forced […]
Lea más
Milan’s Apericena Moment
Earlier this year, my husband and I spent time in Milan doing one of my favorite things in the world, discovering a city by the way it eats and drinks. I have always loved aperitivo in Italy. It is one of those simple pleasures that makes life feel instantly more civilized. A glass arrives, something […]
Lea más
Chinese Rattan Bride Basket
JW has a tall, rectangular, two-tiered rattan Chinese basket circa 1900. She was inspired to write me because of my previous article on Victorian Bride’s Baskets. Her Chinese basket is ALSO a bride’s basket traditionally given in the Guo Da Li pre-wedding processional during the betrothal or engagement period, a gift from the groom’s family […]
Lea más
