19 Oct 2026
California State University Channel Islands Marine Debris Exhibit
Ten students at the California State University at Channel Islands (CSUCI) are exhibiting their “marine debris turned art” exhibit titled Current Findings at the Chrisman California Islands Center, Carpinteria. The exhibit is curated by Matt Furmanski, CSUCI professor of art. The exhibit opening was held on Friday, October 9, and attended by over 50 people, […]
Lea más
Your Apartment Building Just Became a Bond
Santa Barbara’s new rent law caps the coupon on 13,000 apartments at about 2%. What that does to income, value, and exit, why it may not be the last word, and how to keep up. On January 1, roughly 13,000 Santa Barbara apartments start behaving like bonds. The coupon is capped at about 2.1% a […]
Lea más
Streisand’s Malibu Mall
Only in Malibu could the truth sound more theatrical than the fiction. Beneath a barn on Barbra Streisand’s Malibu estate really is a private shopping street, complete with cobblestones, an antique shop, doll shop, gift shop, vintage clothing boutique, and even a sweet shop. The catch? Nothing is actually for sale. Streisand already owns everything. […]
Lea más
Rare and Refined
Montecito’s plant people came out in force for Lotusland’s Exceptional Plants Auction, where collectors, growers, designers, and garden devotees spent the afternoon bidding on more than 200 rare and remarkable specimens, comparing favorites and talking shop beneath the garden’s famously exotic canopy. The savvy sale ranged from collector treasures to drought-tolerant and climate-resilient plants suited […]
Lea más
Driven to Give
“Every mile was in service of the kids,” said Ray Link, chairman of Rally4Kids, as the signature fundraiser for United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County shifted into high gear for its most successful year yet. On October 9, drivers departed Carpinteria for a 225-mile adventure through Ojai, the backcountry and high desert, […]
Lea más
A Cheetah with Six Legs
This unassuming Omus californicus tiger beetle is a fearsome hunter, provided you are ant sized. Tiger beetles are some of the top insect predators. As the world’s fastest insects, they’re actually a lot more like cheetahs than tigers. They hunt by running extremely fast across the ground, charging at prey with their mandibles open. They […]
Lea más
Chabad of Montecito October Events and More News Bytes
October 25, 2 pm: Mega Challah Bake at the Louise Lowry Davis Center 411: www.sbchabad.org MCM’s 1st Annual Pie Baking Contest This October 17, bring your pies to contest judges Nick Barainca, co-owner and Chef at Merci; Field & Fort Chef Austin Moore; and Felix Torricer from Miette Patisserie. Pie drop off time is 11 […]
Lea más
Sheriff’s Blotter — 93108
Theft / 600 block El Bosque Road — Sunday, September 27, at 14:27 hours Unknown suspects stole a package containing diamond earrings from the victim’s front porch. Warrant / 800 block East Mountain Drive — Monday, September 28, at 02:01 hours During a traffic stop the suspect was found to have an active county warrant. […]
Lea más
Help Preserve Montecito’s Voice in Planning Decisions
Montecito’s semi-rural character did not happen by accident. It reflects decades of thoughtful planning, architectural review, and community participation. As Santa Barbara County considers changes to its permitting process, residents have an opportunity to speak up for the protections that have helped shape the community we call home. Following the October 7 hearing, the Montecito […]
Lea más
Will Russian Oil Tip the Midterms to the GOP?
The midterm elections are proof that we are still a democratic constitutional republic. President Trump is afraid that our free and fair election process will actually work and deprive him of control of Congress. If Republicans retain control over the House of Representatives and the Senate, Trump will praise the electoral process as being fair […]
Lea más
Symbolic Dolls and Life’s Dreams
Certain times in my life I receive calls to appraise a certain type of object. In the last three weeks, I have had two calls for two major doll collections of hundreds of dolls each. Those who read my articles know I am frightened of dolls, and when I attend an appraisal of a doll […]
Lea más
The Art of Making a Splash
Julie Anderson Mathias has spent much of her life thinking about how things fit together. Buildings. Rooms. Geometric grids. Colors. Occasionally, very large paintings that don’t fit through doors. The Chicago-based artist began her career in interior architecture, where precision was paramount and measurements generally had the good manners to stay put. Painting, however, offered […]
Lea más
Straw Basket & the “Dutch”
Under the shadow of the Bevo Mill, a reproduction windmill housing a famous brewery on Gravois in Saint Louis, my grandmother Ruth Siegfried had a small house, and I grew up there in the area called Dutchtown. We were not Dutch; we came from Bavaria on my grandfather’s side. German immigrants were often referred to […]
Lea más
13 Oct 2026
Ben Allen, Candidate for Insurance Commissioner
In January of 2018 Montecito had a front row seat to the tragically high price we can pay for living in a small slice of paradise sandwiched between the beautiful Santa Ynez Mountains and the sparkling Pacific Ocean. We also came to understand why what’s going on in the insurance industry matters. State Sen. Ben […]
Lea más
Our National Wasted Potential?
Trump famously asked why we can’t have more immigrants from Norway and fewer from “shithole countries.” But what makes a country a shithole country? I have often approached this from the other end: What makes a country civilized? I have generally offered two minimal requirements: 1) True universal healthcare 2) Good public transportation (especially high-speed […]
Lea más
A Discouraging Word
Election seasons are the winter fall of our discontent when politics rears its ugly head and hypocrisy runs amok. We are in the middle of that discontent as we approach the mid-term elections. Billions are spent in the scramble for power. Politicians offer vague platitudes as solutions while they accuse their opponents of things they […]
Lea más
HOWL with Amy
Q: Dear HOWL, My ‘puppy’ is now four years old and still sleeping in a large crate at night. When Betty was young it served a purpose both for potty training and preventing massive destruction of our home. My husband, who refuses to let Betty sleep in our bed, has supported keeping her crated at […]
Lea más
Zombie 5K Rises Again for Shelter Animals
The dead are rising in Orcutt, and this time they’re running for a paws-itively good cause. The Santa Barbara County Animal Care Foundation’s Zombie 5K Glow Walk/Run returns October 17 at Blast 825 Stockyards, inviting humans, leashed dogs, and even cats to walk, run, or shuffle their way through a glow-in-the-dark 5K benefiting vulnerable shelter […]
Lea más
Biometrics in the Desert: The Science and Art of Sensei Porcupine Creek
There is a moment, about halfway down the long sweeping driveway of Sensei Porcupine Creek, where the rest of Southern California simply evaporates. You are driving through Rancho Mirage, but suddenly the arid desert floor gives way to a stunning, lush paradise that feels entirely tropical rather than desert. This 230-acre private estate belongs to […]
Lea más
Chabad of Montecito October Events
October 11, 10:30 am: Bagels, Lox and Torah October 25, 2 pm: Mega Challah Bake at the Louise Lowry Davis Center 411: www.sbchabad.org Montecito’s First Annual Pie Baking Contest! The Montecito Country Mart is hosting its First Annual Pie Baking Contest at the mart on October 17. Pie drop-off time is 11 am, and winners […]
Lea más
