Tag archives: beautification

Last Saturday, something amazing happened. The day was gorgeous and crisply cold. A deluge of caring Montecitans amassed in the Upper Village in front of Tecolote Book Shop. They chatted with neighbors, over coffee and pastries provided by Andrea Eltinge Newquist and Jacqueline Duran. They donned neon yellow safety vests, picked up green trash pick-up […]

Save the date for this Saturday, November 5, for Montecito Association’s annual Beautification Day! Sponsored in conjunction with the Montecito Community Foundation, the event will be back at the Village Green in front of Tecolote in the Upper Village. The event was canceled in 2020 and was much smaller scale last year in 2021. Hundreds […]

The days are getting shorter and cooler. Fog is drifting in, and it feels like spooky season is rolling in with it. Everyone is craving pumpkin spice, and dreams of the Great Pumpkin lighting up Halloween steal into our children’s blissful sleep.  All of this can only mean one thing… Yes, it’s time for Beautification […]

The businesses that run up and down Coast Village Road (CVR) make up a neighborhood brimming with pride. There are old, fabled institutions like Lucky’s, generational property owners à la Jeff Harding, and small business owners who took leaps of faith and ended up with dreamy storefronts such as the folks atWhiskey & Leather. The […]

Whether you’re new to Montecito, or have been here for decades, you probably adore the bucolic scenery, laid-back vibe, and rural feel here.  Well, that didn’t just happen all by itself. A heck of a lot of people who cared deeply spent decades shaping the community we experience in Montecito today. The Montecito Association was, […]

Santa Barbara Beautiful plants trees. A lot of trees. Thirteen thousand of them in its 57-year history, so far. They even name a Tree of the Month, with a photo and profile of the individual palm, evergreen, jacaranda, or other species, a series that is quite popular with locals and visitors alike.  To be precise, […]

Summerland is blessed with the beautiful green thumb of Sonya Harris, who single-handedly created a garden scape with over 250 plants and stonework along Lillie Avenue’s sidewalk through the northbound 101 onramp.  Caltrans was ready to bulldoze through that garden were it not for a good deed message from Kirsten Ayars, PR for the Caltrans […]

Last week property owners on Coast Village Road – 94 of them to be exact – received a formal petition for the proposed Coast Village Community Benefit Improvement District (CBID), an idea brought forth by the Coast Village Association (CVA) nearly two years ago. The goal of the CBID, which is funded by property owners […]

Last Saturday, something amazing happened in Montecito. A community got on its feet and spread care and love into the world. It was Beautification Day — and the impact was powerful.  The day unfolded with two ensemble casts that had never rehearsed together taking on two big projects. The first team consisted of Montecito Fire, […]

In an effort to remain as COVID-safe as possible, Montecito Association is hosting a smaller-than-normal Beautification Day this Saturday, November 7, beginning at 9 am. This year’s event will be based at a new location: the upper green on the corner of East Valley Road and San Ysidro Road, in front of Pierre Lafond. After […]

After more than a year helping many of their business constituents navigate through catastrophic blows to business, the Board of Directors of the Coast Village Association has one primary goal for 2021: To form a Community Benefit Improvement District, or CBID, in order to take control of the street’s aesthetics, safety, and marketing ventures.  “We’re […]

Save the date for Montecito Association’s 34th annual Beautification Day, this Saturday, November 2 in the upper village green. Garnering hefty support from the community, the special day of beautifying Montecito is expected to have a large turnout of community volunteers. “It’s the most support we’ve ever seen,” said Montecito Association Executive Director Sharon Byrne. […]

The Music Academy of the West suffered social gridlock when Santa Barbara Beautiful hosted its 55th annual awards, co-chaired by Mark Whitehurst and Kerry Methner, at the Miraflores campus. Ubiquitous KEYT-TV senior reporter John Palminteri emceed the ceremony in the Lehmann Ballroom after a welcome by organization president Penny Haberman, who revealed SBB had provided […]

Last week, the newly installed planters on Coast Village Road were filled with small shrub landscaping, thanks to the generosity of several local business owners and donors.  The planters were initially installed in March, at the entrance of two of the road’s parking aisles, in an effort to deter through traffic and speeding. The project […]

Montecito beautification elves, along with Montecito firefighters, Manning Park ranger Doug Norton, and school kids from Montecito Union School, spent the afternoon of Monday, December 10, decorating the Hathaway Family Tree – also known as the Montecito Community Tree – near the Manning Park tennis courts on San Ysidro Road. The tradition of decorating the […]

“It’s all Trump’s fault”! Leftists instantly reach for the “Hate-Trump Card” as a knee-jerk reaction to virtually every “crisis.” Do you remember Democrats and the seedier media blaming Robert (“F**k Trump”) De Niro for the shooting and attempted assassination of president Ronald Reagan? I don’t. A certified mental case shot at the president because, as […]

Montecito Association (MA) Beautification Day was a great success, drawing more than 100 volunteers who came out to help beautify several areas of Montecito. With breakfast sponsored by the Rosewood Miramar Resort, lunch donated by Montecito Village Grocery and San Ysidro Ranch (and prepared by Montecito firefighters), the event was a collaborative effort. Multiple groups […]

This Saturday, November 3, marks Montecito Association’s 33rd annual Beautification Day! “This year is obviously different than years past,” said co-chair of the event Houghton Hyatt. “It will be a day of coming together and celebrating our community, as the theme is ‘Better Together,’” she said.  The family-friendly event will begin as usual, with a […]

At this month’s Montecito Association (MA) Board meeting, Coast Village Association president Bob Ludwick addressed board members to give an update on the CVA’s initiatives and mission. Representing about 125 businesses, 85 of which are retail or restaurants, as well as nearby residents, the CVA has three active committees, including Beautification, Events & Promotion, and […]

Fifty years ago, Old Coast Highway between Hot Springs and Olive Mill was redesigned, reconstructed, and renamed Coast Village Road. Now, the Coast Village Association (CVA) is looking for interested parties to bring new ideas, enthusiasm, and community spirit to reimagine the lower village, given new challenges such as traffic, lack of landscaping, and recovery from […]