Regarding the letter by Eileen Read. I have never met her nor Bob Hazard. I don’t care if he’s a motel franchiser from Phoenix, or a right-wing political gadfly. I and my surf-rider friends, fishermen, ocean swimmers, and beachgoers ONLY care about the quality of effluent that enters the surf and that is only treated […]

–From County Public Health Office Appointments for first doses of COVID-19 vaccines are available to eligible Santa Barbara County residents every Monday at 9 am through the county’s public health vaccination sites. People who are eligible for these appointments are those who work in emergency services, agriculture, and food services, and any remaining Phase 1A […]

There’ve been two letters in the past two weeks concerning the possibly inappropriate influence that Bob Hazard might be trying to exercise over water policy in our village, specifically his amateur hydrological agenda that includes a risible proposal to merge the boards of the Montecito Water Authority (MWA) and the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD). For […]

Contrary to Nick Welsh’s February 10 piece in the Santa Barbara Independent, at no point did I suggest in my Montecito Journal editorial replacing Dr. Ansorg or Van Do-Reynoso with Thomas Tighe or Charity Dean. My letter made the fairly obvious suggestion that our county would benefit from a COVID Czar that has the independence […]

Interesting concept, as per last week’s lead piece of this newspaper. Having a COVID vaccination czar in Santa Barbara. It would be even worth investigating if it weren’t so hypocritical and so self centered for this particular newspaper to bring the subject matter up. Two weeks ago MJ’s investigative reporter Nicholas Schou pointed out, what […]

Senior Moments Congratulations on the new column, Senior Portrait. Just read the wonderful article on Peter van Duinwyck, whom I knew years ago from our Montecito Association Board. He certainly made big contributions to the success there and to all his other involvements, then and now. Sure miss our “good old days” and look forward […]

1936-2020 Immigrant daughter from humble beginnings internalized her family’s “Lessons to Live By” and became a community hero by dedicating her life to serving people in crisis Unity Shoppe lost our matriarch and founder, Barbara Tellefson, after a brief bout with an aggressive illness. She was 84. Barbara’s singular focus and half-century of devotion to […]

It takes a good interviewer and writer and selection of a worthy subject to produce a meaningful and touching article.  Leslie A. Westbrook achieved all three for her piece, “At Home with Lou” (August 21-28, 2021). She focused on interviews with the prize-winning, former senior White House Correspondent for The Washington Post, Lou Cannon, and […]

Setting the Record Straight Cold Spring School has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the best public elementary schools in California. Year after year, we have earned high honors for student achievement, family engagement, innovative instruction, and effective administration. Our students are given an exceptional foundation for life-long learning and they excel in junior […]

Capitol Offense Like most Americans, I was distressed last week when rioters at the instigation of Donald Trump invaded and trashed the Capitol. It was even more upsetting for my wife, Mary, who worked twelve years on Capitol Hill. I covered Congress for Ridder Publications before going to The Washington Post and have been in […]

Dr. Mohamed Samir “Sam” Amer died at his second home in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on December 21, 2020. He was 85. Born in Tanta, Egypt, to Mohamed Mohamed Amer and Zeinab Hussein Saad Amer, Sam came to the U.S. in 1958 as a Fulbright scholar to study pharmacology at the University of Illinois at […]

Comic Relief For the funniest line ever to appear in the Journal, the Oscar goes to:  “As of press time, Jesus Christ was unavailable for comment due to commitments elsewhere.” LOL, LOL, LOL! Thanks Nick, I needed that. LeeAnn MorganMontecito Identifying Dangerous Mask Deniers How will public health officials, ambulance drivers, and the TSA distinguish […]

Love for Brilliant Thoughts It is with anticipation that I pick up my copy of the Montecito Journal each Thursday morning to catch up on local news, learn what’s going on in Montecito and Summerland and find entertainment. My favorite column is Ashleigh Brilliant’s Brilliant Thoughts. Your paper never disappoints! While I always appreciate Mr. […]

The Real Hoax Dear Mr. Hazard, I think deplorable is an apt title for your article regarding Trump, and your willingness to accept his ignorance by denying the existence of COVID “The Hoax.”  How many deaths and illnesses have occurred because of this denial? How about his 20,000 lies certified by fact checkers over the […]

The Governor Who Stole Christmas The Board of Supervisors approved sending a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom at last Tuesday’s meeting. I was elated to hear Adams and Lavagnino lead a stronger pushback with the idea of keeping our County evaluated separately. However, Santa Barbara County needs to take even a stronger stand with a […]

Pound for pound, or rather inch for inch, it’s doubtful that Santa Barbara has ever had a more hardworking, tireless, dedicated, and effective advocate for the underprivileged than Barbara Tellefson. The founder and president of Santa Barbara’s Unity Shoppe, who passed away at 84 on November 22, was an undeniable dynamo whose stature and influence […]

Shock and Law In an article in MJ’s Dec 3-10 issue, Rinaldo S. Brutoco describes the recent Supreme Court decision in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v Cuomo as astounding, shocking, incredible, and “out of left field.” The only thing shocking to this former trial lawyer is Mr. Brutoco’s total misstatement of the facts of […]

The New Roundabout Nightmare Brought to you by the same storytelling government that said closing southbound ramp would not adversely affect Coast Village Road. Plus, they knew they didn’t have to close the ramp until they widen the freeway through Montecito. The only conclusion we can make is they wanted Montecito to suffer. Hurt the […]

The Art of Compromise Dear Mr. Hazard, I know you expect an answer from President-elect Joe Biden. But here is mine to your letter.  One Party Rule. Read Constitution, Article II, sec. 1. The concept of electors did not make any sense then, and it does not make any sense now. The country is mature […]

‘Copter Conundrum We have a real threat going right now. A real one. A resident of Summerland is asking for two helipads on his private property in Summerland. This is after he has admitted that he has been illegally landing and taking off from this same property for 25 years. He has built a “helicopter […]

A Spaceship Named ‘Resilience’ I look forward to Rinaldo S. Brutoco’s Perspectives missive every week in the MJ. Mr. Brutoco not only does a good job of succinctly identifying difficult problems or issues of concern we all face, he offers well thought out and constructive paths forward. A Spaceship named ‘Resilience’ immediately resonated with me […]

Bear Necessities Carlos here! Since I have good Wi-Fi here in my den, I was able to watch the Town Hall meeting a few weeks ago about me. I was grateful for a large attendance of twenty-something people who logged in to learn, listen, and let their thoughts be known about my presence. Fish and […]

Stunned and Irredeemable I’m stunned… and so is an insignificant handful of fellow irredeemable voters. Give it a couple weeks and stout-hearted Republicans will eventually accept the mostly-legal ballot results. I think it’s uncertain whether deplorable conservatives will reconcile, forgive, join hands, sing Kumbaya and fully cooperate with the new administration, like the democrats did […]

Lest anyone get the impression from last week’s “On the Record” column by Nicholas Schou on the cancellation of this year’s Ghost Village Road Trick or Treat event that I was the person behind the very first one, I’d like to clear up that record. Mr. Schou was quite accurate in his reportage that the […]

Put Our Children First Our family moved into the Cold Spring School District on the eve of the Thomas Fire. We chose the district because we had first-hand experience with Dr. Amy Alzina’s leadership at Adams Elementary School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Her student-centered focus and educational vision is the perfect recipe […]

Paul F. Glenn was well known among commodity traders and medical researchers. He deftly handled the double-edged sword of long and short positions in volatile commodities markets, which enabled him to reach another of his goals beyond financial success: philanthropy in medical research. Paul Foss Glenn was born and raised in Sharon, Pennsylvania. He was […]

Cold Spring School: Just the Facts, Ma’am I first learned about Measure L2020 a little over a month ago from the front page of this very publication. Little did I know that when I posted about it on NextDoor, I would spark a debate that has both divided and united various members of our community. I […]

Margaret Jane Dyruff (née Stivers), age 92, died peacefully of natural causes at home on October 7. She was born on December 27, 1927, in Ripley, Ohio to the late AJ Stivers II and Eliese Bambach Stivers. “Baby Jane” was the middle of five children, and was an active 4-H member and Girl Scout camper.  […]

Full STEAM Ahead There has been much discussion about how the upcoming Cold Spring School bond measure will impact the members of the school community, but it is worth pausing to consider how this measure will impact the current and future students. Cold Spring School has a strong culture of providing students with an enriching […]

A Wish List, Not a Plan We have lived on Chelham Way since 1972, and our two children attended Cold Spring School in the 1970s. Until now, we voted for every proposed bond measure for the school and have donated to the CSS Foundation. Although our children now have families of their own and live […]

Cold Spring School Needs New Classrooms As a longtime parent at Cold Spring School, I can attest to the fact that the three portables installed 25 years ago are falling apart. While I do agree that the school needs these classrooms replaced, I do not agree that the $7.8 million Bond L2020 plan to construct […]

Transmission Lines Need to Go An article by Rinaldo S. Brutoco in the 10-17 September issue of the paper addresses an alternative to P.G.&E’s destructive high voltage transmission lines. His solution is called an “interconnected microgrid network” and it does not need the dangerous transmission lines to operate. There is no question that these lines […]

Leanna D’Andrea Merritt – November 17, 1949 – September 11, 2020 Leanna (D’Andrea) Merritt passed away peacefully at Serenity House on September 11, 2020. Leanna was born in Santa Barbara on November 17, 1949 to parents Louise and Graciano D’Andrea. She attended Franklin Elementary, Cold Spring School, Santa Barbara Junior High, and Santa Barbara High […]

Peter James Hamilton Winn, who was born on January 26, 1961 in Dorset, England, passed away on Sunday, August 23, 2020 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where he was cared for by the angels in the 1-Compton Pavilion. Peter was diagnosed in early 2020 with multiple myeloma, and staged a courageous battle against this vicious […]

Craig would have loved the word polymath, as it describes the Renaissance man that he was. That was Craig. He was curious and interested in everything and never stopped learning. After graduating from UCSB in 1969 with a degree in biology, and while pursuing a master’s degree in business at Cal State, Long Beach, he […]

Strictly Speaking In response to Mr. Dale Lowdermilk’s erudite letter comparing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and those for skin cancer dangers, just this: The draconic measures described for combatting skin cancers are useful warnings that people can adopt for their own protection. Fortunately, cancer is not contagious. Therefore, everyone has the option of following […]

Earlier this year, as the date of her May wedding was fast approaching and coronavirus cases were rapidly mounting, Anna Burrows did what any sensible bride to be would do: she postponed her nuptials until October. By summer, however, it became evident that a fall wedding would prove no more feasible than a spring one. […]