Caltrans’ Punishment Regarding Addison Thompson’s letter (“Fake News Alert,” MJ # 25/25): I sat on the Montecito Association Board of Directors while the Caltrans plan to remove the 101 southbound on-ramp from Cabrillo Blvd. was being considered, and our Board’s objection to such an ill-conceived plan was loudly voiced and well documented directly to the […]

Just Another 101 Fable J.B.’s editor’s note in last week’s issue re “Failure to widen the 101 in 1993,” reminded me of my 25-year issue on this subject as a retired commuter. So here it is in the following: Another Fable from Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, SBCAG – Updated. In the News-Press for […]

Kardboard Kapers It’s that time of year again: the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum’s 17th Annual Kardboard Kayak Races are coming to West Beach, Santa Barbara, on Saturday, July 6 from 12 noon to 3 pm. Get ready for some hilarity and family fun. SBMM’s Kardboard Kayak Races challenge families and teams to participate in a […]

A Strange and Risky World We have a president who has led his caretakers in the Republican White House to think it is reasonable to insist on a petty hiding of a destroyer docked in Japan during the president’s recent visit because it has the name of a Republican senator, a former prisoner of war […]

Roundabout Petition The proposed roundabout on the corner of San Ysidro Road and North Jameson Lane is moving forward. The traffic concern is visible twice daily on weekdays during the school year for about an hour each time. There are lower cost and safer ways to mitigate the delay issue. The plan for a roundabout […]

Let’s Percolate Several questions come into the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) that need and deserve answers. So, let’s start. Q. My plumber told me that the Sanitary District no longer offers financial aid for private sewer lateral replacement/repair (pipe between house and the main sewer line). Is that true? A. The District does offer a […]

Expensive Water The five current Montecito Water District directors, who raised over $200,000 in campaign funds to help get elected, are close to finalizing a 50 years agreement with the City of Santa Barbara to purchase some of its desal water that could cost the 4,600 Montecito Water District customers about one quarter of a […]

We Must Be Kidding I was flabbergasted to read last week’s letters to the editor wherein you proposed increased CO2 to warm an ice age on the heels of an international report detailing the pending destruction of millions of species of land animals and sea life. Ice ages occur because of wobbling of the earth’s […]

John Robert (Bob) Hamilton, 77, died peacefully at Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing, in Berlin, Vermont on March 15, 2019 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Bob was born on November 28, 1941 in Crawfordsville, Indiana.  After high school he attended Wabash College from 1960 to 1964, also in Crawfordsville, where he achieved an outstanding record, including […]

Penny died at home on Saturday, April 20, 2019 of esophageal cancer. She was 74 years old. Penny was an inspirational big sister, loving and caring daughter, professional trailblazer, mentor, deeply caring friend, and passionate cat lover. Private in many aspects of her life, once you were allowed inside the protective layer, you came to […]

Remembering the Alamo About to become an octogenarian, I look back at a life well lived but am discouraged about the future. My despair is not for the few years I have left, but for the future of our grandchildren, their entire generation and this nation. All great periods in history eventually come to an […]

The Crux of The Crucible Our production of Robert Ward’s The Crucible (based on the Arthur Miller play) was neither conceived nor performed as a political statement about the times in which we live, but rather focused on the allegorical context of the fallible nature of humankind and finding ultimate redemption: often at a heavy […]

Archie’s Last Days I just had a neighbor say… “Why would you let them print this (“The Last Days of Archie McLaren,” MJ # 25/15)?” My answer even surprised me. Archie wanted this story told so dying people had a choice. He actually requested me to find someone just weeks before he died. So back […]

Paul and Jane Orfalea recently had the honor to meet one-on-one with President Barack Obama to discuss possible future philanthropic partnerships. “He’s my favorite of all the Presidents,” says Paul. “He’s a real gentleman.”   “We were both very impressed by his candor and commitment,” says Jane. “Everything we asked, he answered, and very frankly.”  Obama […]

Good Times Rolling Has anyone noticed that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is closing in on returning to its previous unprecedented high in the high 26s. When it sunk a few months ago to almost 22,000, the mainstream media was heralding the end of the “Trump Economy.” Now, there’s (almost) nothing in the way of […]

Beatrice Brown (“Brownie”) Borden, author and wildlife photographer, died peacefully on March 25, 2019 at her home in Montecito, California. She was 98. Brownie traveled throughout the world with her late husband, noted naturalist, conservationist and filmmaker Dick Borden (1910-1999), documenting a wide variety of birds and animals. Together, the Bordens contributed to many theatrical […]

In Search of Dragons I’ve just finished reading your touching (and accurate) tribute to our remarkable friend, Julian Nott (“He Landed Safely,” MJ # 25/13). In addition to being a “…physicists, thinker, inventor, and bon vivant…” Julian had a devious, some might say “twisted” sense of humor, which inspired me to write more than a […]

Signs of Trouble What a surprise! During a Sheriff’s raid on a drug house, they found our stolen road signs; check out the attached image!  Montecito’s iconic road signs are 100% privately funded through donations to the Montecito Community Foundation. Most community members are unaware of the Montecito Community Foundation’s work (the conversion of a […]

MWD: Reconsider Water Deal… Please (The following letter was sent to Floyd Wicks, President of the Board of Directors of the Montecito Water District, and its Board members, and a copy was cc’d to Montecito Journal by the letter writer.) I am writing to support the recommendations of your former General Manager Bob Roebuck (“Water […]

Unlike a Rolling Stone By the way, the drought is over. I don’t care what the experts say, look at the moss on the 100-year-old wall at the Santa Barbara cemetery. Plants don’t have an agenda. Dan SeibertSanta Barbara Money Laundering Explained As always, I appreciate MJ publishing my letters and anytime you may comment […]

The Other Side of Straws We are writing in response to the recent editorial about straws. We generally respect Bob Hazard’s journalistic integrity and are sorry to see so many inaccuracies in this piece. The City of Santa Barbara’s straw law goes into effect on July 1, 2019 and not on January 1, 2019 as […]

Double-Wide Kings in Carp Thanks to all of you who came out to see us at the Lobero Theatre last November to celebrate the music of Neil Young. Over the past several months, we have been busy mixing down the live recordings from that special night. We are excited to announce that we will be […]

We lost Max on Sunday, January 27. Max would have celebrated his 27th birthday this Valentine’s Day. Max grew up in Santa Barbara and will be forever missed by his twin sister, Alexie, sisters Gaby and Katie, mother Karen, father Michael, and stepmother Lana.

A Simpler Solution In “Sucking It Up” written by Larry Bond (MJ #25/7), he indicates that both he and Mr. Gene Tyburn wonder “…why this common sense solution to our water woes has not been pursued.” The “common sense solution” referred to is to dredge the bottom of the lake when conditions permit to increase […]

A Burning Issue Do they read the Montecito Journal in distant Hope Ranch? I hope so.For several months oil has been seeping out of the bluff between Hope Ranch and the beach and it is hot enough that it is burning underground. There have been repeated efforts to stop it by burying it but this […]

A Non-Scientific View Last week, Montecito Journal’s front-page photo of the Romero debris catch basin filled with tons of rocks, coupled with your words stating Montecito had fared the last major storm “very well,” left me wondering why you are still writing about the installation of several steel nets. If what we have in our […]

The Last Straw I love your newspaper and read it whenever I’m in Santa Barbara. I am fortunate to be able to split my time between homes in Seattle and Santa Barbara – two great but quite different cities. While reading the “Great Straw War” editorial, I was shocked to read SB City Councilmember Jason […]

It is difficult to decide whether to laugh or cry at a recent judge’s ruling denying the U.S. government’s right to use the census to count the number of U.S. citizens. Laughing because it is deceivers’ dream to have every action of this presidential administration – including masking the difference between citizens and illegals – […]

Is the drought over for a while?None of us knows.Is water security important?Of course. Is this security worth having your monthly water bills increase a quarter to a third more? If your average monthly water bill is $150, how happy will you feel if it goes to $200 a month, especially during normal rain times […]

Referencing Dick Shaikewitz‘s letter to the editor (“Ethics in Journalism,” MJ # 24/51), it is apparent that former Montecito Water District (MWD) Director Shaikewitz and I have a difference of opinion over how to provide water security for the residents of Montecito and Summerland. He believes that, contrary to state law, a written strategic plan […]

A wall is a symbol and embodiment of safety and stability, protection, and endurance. A wall is a boundary, safeguarding an important stronghold. That’s why in Russian and many other cultures women say about their husbands: “It feels with him like I am behind a solid rock wall,” which clearly implies that a woman feels […]

At this time of year when stores are shouting all that is new and exciting – the latest “favorite thing” – we thought it’d be fun to talk to some of our team to see what are some of each of our favorite things, during the holidays and year-round. A fun survey here at Christie […]

One year ago, pretty much right now, I was looking up from Montecito Street in Santa Barbara at Montecito Peak on fire. I thought for sure all of Montecito would burn. But it didn’t, thanks to 8,000 firefighters. Dan SeibertMontecito (Editor’s note: Well, yes, while we can’t say Montecito was “lucky,” as we lost nearly […]

In last week’s Montecito Miscellany, we mistakenly left out Gonzalo Sarmiento from the photo’s caption, which should have included Mr. Sarmiento. Many apologies. Mulling Mueller Matters There are certain areas of the Mueller investigation that could be very disturbing when his report comes out later this month. As a former FBI director, does Mr. Mueller […]

With profound sadness over the loss of such a bright light, please know that Mary has passed. She spent her last days at Serenity House in Santa Barbara, surrounded by friends and family and enough love to support Mary’s boundless spirit. Mary was born in San Diego in 1973. She was raised by her Grandmother, […]

A few months before the fires and the terrible mud slides in Montecito, I wrote to Santa Barbara County South Coast Maintenance Superintendent Randy Carnahan and attached a picture of the cracked asphalts on the surface of Channel Drive and asked that it be repaired. He responded that he would place it on the repair […]

Lolita Mitchell Lanning, or “Tita” to all who knew her, passed peacefully on Sunday, November 18 at Serenity House in Santa Barbara, with loved ones in attendance. Tita was the daughter of Lolita Armour of the Armour meat packing company in Chicago, IL and Jack Mitchell, who was president and co-founder of Santa Barbara’s Los […]

For some reason the memory of silent-film star Charlie Chaplin is exploited with the fantastical myth that he “built” the Montecito Inn. Totally untrue. In David Myrick’s definitive history (“Santa Barbara & Montecito,” Volumes I and II), he explains the origin of the Montecito Inn in some detail. “Don B. Sebastian and William S. Seamans,” […]

“The saddest part about these fires in California is that they are self-inflicted. Californians should not allow such mismanagement to continue. At what point will common-sense forest management practices win out over the ideologically driven environmental lobby? Soon, I hope, or Paradise might not be the only thing lost.”– Krystina Skurk (The Federalist) (Ms Skurk […]

As Bob Hazard gazes into his crystal ball (“A Fascinating Future,” Guest Editorial, MJ #24/45), the picture emerges in print. It is a complex vision of the future. It, unfortunately, and realistically harbors a great deal of human wastage. People raised here and with no experience in the Third World may fail to see the […]