Tag archives: Carpinteria

When COVID crushed live entertainment in March 2020 for more than a year, Gilberto González turned to working in the studio environment. González, a guitarist who was raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, but has spent just shy of a quarter-century in Ventura County, began recording regularly at Emmet Sargent’s Beagle Studios, making video recordings with a […]

Girls Inc. of Carpinteria is bringing back their wintery gift-giving event, Operation Holiday Cheer. Launched in 2020 and presented by Cox Communications, this program brings gifts and some holiday spirit to local girls and their families that are experiencing economic hardships resulting from the pandemic.  “We are proud to host our 3rd Annual Operation Holiday […]

Jeanette Fantone, a Japanese Filipino animator from Carpinteria, has won a 2022 Princess Grace Award. Her work largely stems from cultural nostalgia and gravitas towards the manipulation of textures and tactility as a way of invoking impressions of memory. Fantone received her BFA in Experimental Animation from CalArts this year and competed three films in […]

Unless you’re a dog, most of us never think about fire hydrants until you need one. Such was the case when Robin Donaldson, an architect for a residential renovation project on Padaro Lane in Carpinteria, applied for a routine building permit with the county. His plans had already been approved by the California Coastal Commission […]

Jumping from high school to college, and from a harrowing drama to an absurdist comedy, there’s also UCSB Theater’s offering of a long weekend of The Government Inspector at the Hatlen Theater on campus November 16-20. UCSB faculty member Michael Bernard, whose tenure in town following 10 years as Associate Artistic Director of the 52nd […]

Down on the Carpinteria State Beach, between the mouth of the Carpinteria Creek and southeast of the Tarpits, a nesting colony of western snowy plovers continues to grow on the popular summertime beach. Nesting season is March 15 to September 15, and in 2021, the first successful western snowy plover nest since 1960 saw three […]

The Pumpkin Queen is in need of your assistance again. It seems that scoundrel Louie D’Ville is now scheming with the despicable Chuck Bunger to turn all of Isla Vista into parking lots, strip malls, and high rises.  Yes, with October coming to a close, IV Recreation & Park District and Lucidity Festival’s Halloween Haunted […]

Sunday, August 21 marked the reception for the second public art exhibit for Tamara Thompson, with over 40 natural seaweed designs on watercolor paper, framed and matted, for wall and tabletop.  Thompson, self-named “The Seaweed Artist,” is in a group show with her father, Michael Harvan, a local landscape painter, at the Apiary in Carpinteria […]

Last summer, the community theater company at Carpinteria’s Alcazar Theatre launched Laugh Out Loud, a one-weekend summer series of several short comedic plays, both to keep its actors and the community engaged, and to test the waters of producing live theater during the pandemic.  Audiences responded, filling up more than half of the seats at […]

New to the area? Experiencing an ongoing issue at your home or in your neighborhood? There are people for that. The County of Santa Barbara has more than 4,000 employees that can help with everything from behavioral wellness to tax collection to County Fire and Sheriff’s operations. But knowing who to call for what can […]

The Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center gave a very civilized Volunteer Appreciation Picnic. No ants allowed! It was in their courtyard at 865 Linden Avenue with mimosas and sandwiches.  Besides good picnic fare, there was a book signing and talk by the author, Marilyn Chandler DeYoung (aka “Missy”) who was introduced by executive director Linda […]

Lying just south of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria is known as a beloved beach town with its Latinx culture and agricultural roots: food farmers, avocado and lemon orchards, flower growers, and the cannabis industry where the majority of these workers are Latinx. Flourishing local farms are an essential element to the Carpinteria Valley and to the […]

Carpinteria is like the Little Engine that Could. They wanted an arts center, so they worked, and worked, and now there is a thriving one at 865 Linden Avenue. The annual fundraiser was just held that allows the group to present programs for all kinds of artistic ventures for all ages. Two hundred folks attended […]

Girls Inc. of Carpinteria celebrated empowering women and girls at its annual Women of Inspiration luncheon recently. And what could be a more powerful example than a NASA rocket scientist, Tracy Van Houten, to give the keynote speech? Tracy is a lead engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She calls herself a STEMinist (Science, […]

Bob Hazard’s recent piece, “Should the Montecito Water and Sanitary Districts Consolidate?” needs a host of corrections, out of respect for the intelligence (and ratepayer costs) of the citizens of Montecito, particularly Water District customers. As part of the “Montecito Water Security Team,” Hazard praises a number of studies – MORE STUDIES – on studies […]

The other day I was invited to a breakfast in Carpinteria at 7:30 am. Really! I’m so glad I went because I learned about Carpinteria Children’s Project (CCP). It began in 2009 when only 15% of kindergarteners in Carpinteria were rated ready for school. Last year, 49% were ready, with another 37% close to ready. […]

Nestled in the foothills of the beautifully green Carpinteria Valley, just five miles south of Santa Barbara, sits a family owned and operated fresh cut flower farm, Myriad Flowers.  Lush, exotic, vivid in color, and fascinating in their most pure and natural state, the Van Wingerdens specialize in local blooms of roses, tulips, lilies, sunflowers, […]

Traffic was at a standstill this past weekend, with an underground fire causing the closure of the northbound freeway lanes near Via Real on Saturday evening. After an ongoing investigation of the fire, which was believed to be coming from a storm drain under the freeway, Sheriff’s deputies arrested a suspect they believe intentionally set […]

“The Queen of the Coast”is an art exhibit held in conjunction with the Rincon Classic surf event. The surfing show has been around for 44 years. The art show, not so long. The Rincon Classic is over, but the art will be around until Sunday, February 20. The show features artists from Carpinteria, Rincon area, […]

Dear Mr. Brutoco, You certainly are an inventive person. You begin your “perspectives” column early by whining that the defense counsel for acquitted shooter Kyle Rittenhouse was “allowed” to refer to the two men killed by Mr. Rittenhouse as “rioters and looters,” and then claim, “they weren’t.” Do you have some secret knowledge as to […]