Sharon (Sherry) Bevan’s legacy of light and love came to a beautiful close on October 28th, 2023, at home in Casa Dorinda surrounded by her loving family. A private family ceremony will be held January 26, 2024, at Santa Barbara Cemetery. Sherry was a rare Mayflower descendant and fourth-generation Californian. In 1923, her parents built […]

Congratulations to Westmont men’s and women’s golf head coach Joshua Ault, who won his first mid-amateur tournament in the AmateurGolf.com Winter Invitational December16-17 at Corica Park Golf Course in Alameda. Ault finished at 2-over with rounds of 72-74. He led by one stroke heading into the challenging final two holes. Facing wind and rain, he […]

Gwyn Lurie is my business partner and political opposite. The one thing we agree on is that we make each other better. Well, better and more tired. I was proud that Gwyn was honored this past Sunday as the Dem Women of Santa Barbara’s ‘Woman of the Year.’ Had the Dem Women checked with me […]

Violinist Frank Huang is deep into his ninth year as concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, but the joys of performing as part of much smaller ensembles has never strayed far from his heart. “Before I got into the orchestra world, I was pursuing life as a quartet player,” shared Huang, who was the first […]

Don Bushnell was born January 7, 1927, as an identical twin. Both he and his twin brother, David, were radio Quiz Kids, and both were awarded scholarships to the University of Chicago at age 16. Their adult lives followed very similar educational and professional paths. Don was devoted to social issues his entire life, starting […]

Through her decades-long work as an executive, producer, and on-air reporter for Court TV and the Nancy Grace show on HLN, Wendy Whitman has become an acknowledged expert on the subject of murder in America. A graduate of the Boston University School of Law, Whitman, who also used to work for comedians Lily Tomlin and […]

A great deal has happened since the late 1960s when the first reverse mortgage was issued to a high school teacher by one of her former students. Back then, what began as privately issued reverse mortgage loans ultimately became insured by the Federal Housing Authority in the 1980s and gradually saw the birth of proprietary “JUMBO” […]

(The following is the second installment of an interview with Cold Spring School Foundation President Holly Kane. The previous installment can be found in last week’s edition, MJ Volume 28 Issue 12.)  Q. We’ve been reporting on the school’s new cross-curricular building on campus. Tell us about it.  A. We have a beautiful yet aging […]

Girls Rock SB + Amplify has partnered with Parisian ready-to-wear and accessories brand Zadig & Voltaire, for Women’s History Month. For the entire month of March, the French company is donating 10 percent of proceeds for every full-price purchase made from its boutiques and online stores. Syryn Records, a youth-run record label and internship program […]

Two years ago, British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor was set to launch his first U.S. tour, including a concert at the Lobero Theatre for CAMA, the Community Arts Music Association. But the pandemic put paid to that with all venues being closed and Grosvenor flying back to the U.K., having not played one note. Now, with […]

Montecito Journal sponsored Zoom Town Meeting designed to address your questions and concerns regarding Santa Barbara County’s COVID Vaccine Rollout Plan. Hour-long Virtual Town Meeting joined by Congressman Salud Carbajal, County Supervisors Das Williams and Gregg Hart, County Director of Public Health Van Do-Reynoso, Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg, and State Senator Monique Limón […]

Ever see a beautifully restored vintage pickup truck and think you’d love to have one? Well, here is your chance and be able to do so from the safety and comfort of your own home. We are excited to raffle off this beautiful 1956 GMC truck valued at $60,000. Tickets are $150.00 each and the […]

The results for the Santa Barbara County Election are trickling in! Click the links below to be in the know. Nationally, the race to the presidency has yet to be called. Mail-in ballots in crucial states are still being counted to determine our next president, which may take some time to complete. But in the […]

Donald Lee Margerum passed peacefully at home in Montecito, California on May 24, 2020. He lived a long and beautiful life, and was ready to leave this life as his health declined. Don was born on March 29, 1926 in Ferguson, Missouri to parents Donald Cameron Margerum and Ida Lee Nunley. His early years were […]

I don’t speak French but neither did anyone else at the “A Night in Paris” benefit for Montessori Center School (MCS) at Rosewood Miramar Hotel. Ball gowns and tuxes were de rigueur as guests sipped mimosas and wine. The ballroom doors opened to a stunning sight of white with white feathers in very tall vases […]

Records galore were broken at the White on the Green Party at Bella Vista, the sprawling Summerland estate of polo playing hotel magnate Pat Nesbitt and his wife, Ursula, to mark the culmination of the United Boys & Girls Club Rally 4 Kids – a 150-mile plus trip with a record 74 cars, including Aston […]

Partying with Pride Pacific Pride Foundation (PPF) has again partnered with Merryl Brown Events to deliver its 2019 gala, which will be held at the Rosewood Miramar Beach. Limited to 400 guests, this Royal Ball is the first major fundraising event at this stunning new resort. Because planning and production on the event are so […]

by Molly-Ann Leikin (Molly-Ann Leikin is an Executive Speechwriter and Emmy nominee living in Montecito. Her website is anythingwithwords.com.) Most people are happier being audited by a fiber-deficient IRS agent than speaking in public. They’re even less enthusiastic about writing their own speeches.  Sometimes, we have to do both. I can make it easy for you […]

At a Coast Village Association (CVA) Board meeting in September, the board was given an update on several traffic initiatives along Coast Village Road.  The CVA’s Traffic & Safety Committee has been working with City engineers to increase the flow of traffic on Coast Village Road, while making it a safer place for both drivers […]

The Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) got underway with their 14th Annual Charity Regatta benefiting Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care (VNHC) and celebrating our dedicated teachers. They were recognized for going 110 percent above and beyond the call of duty during the Thomas Fire and mudslides to continue their student’s education. They arranged alternate classroom […]

Santa Barbara Polo Club president John Muse opened the doors of his magnificent Carpinteria beach house to host a fund-raising dinner bash for 60 guests. The contemporary home, with 120 feet of Pacific frontage, took two years to build and is worthy of a spread in Architectural Digest. The fun fete raised more than $50,000 […]

Opening to a warm welcome from the community, Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro softly opened the doors to its newest location in Coast Village Plaza on August 15. Owner Renaud Gonthier sat down with us last week to discuss the new bistro and bakery, which is currently serving breakfast and lunch and will eventually serve dinner […]

On a balmy spring day in early April, a resident of Montecito walked outside to her back yard to hear small, mewing cries coming from under a bush on her property. To her surprise, she found a kitten crying and apparently abandoned right outside her house. When the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network (SBWCN) first […]

At a hearing earlier this month, the California Coastal Commission denied the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’s ordinance amendments pertaining to the prohibition of Short-Term Rentals (STRs). The ban on STRs was approved by the Board of Supervisors in October of last year, after more than two years of multiple hearings as well as […]

An Abbreviated Guide to the Holiday Coast of Maine (In our first thrilling installment, we took a family vacation to Maine. Today we look at popular vacation spots along the state’s coast, from north to south.) Bar Harbor Where: In what Maine folks call “Down East” (which is actually up, toward Canada). Bar Harbor lies […]

Coast Village Road (CVR) houses some 150 retail shops, restaurants, hotels, real estate companies, banks, residences, hair salons, and offices within its four-block stretch between Hot Springs and Olive Mill. Many of these businesses are struggling to stay alive; they need your patronage and support. Residents of Montecito, especially those living in the upper village, […]