Tag archives: coronavirus

I opened my eyes and for the first time in probably 16 days and realized I was sleeping on my side. A luxury. I could see the bottle of Tylenol, thermometer, and oximeter through the clear half drunken bottle of Glacier Freeze Gatorade on my bed stand. Was it Lady Windermere who had paid me […]

On Monday, May 4, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state would be moving into “Stage 2” of its reopening plan following over six weeks of stringent stay-at-home orders. On Tuesday, local public health officials including Public Health Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso were in front of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, outlining how […]

Q. What special memories do you have of Summerland? My fondest memories of the Summerland community come from when I first became a mother. Summerland is a wonderful family town and Summerland Elementary was (and still is) a wonderful school. Families would get together at The Nugget and at the beach. Cafe Luna was a hub, but […]

Q. With COVID-19 changing the way we interact as a community, how are you making it work through this difficult time and do you have any tips to share? A. Here at the Summerland Salon & Spa, we’ve worked together as a team to think of innovative ways to stay in touch with our clients. […]

CREST is a Crispr Hope in the Testing Crisis With the United States and the world on the verge of reopening from the global shutdown, there has never been a greater need for effective and reliable COVID-19 testing. While the current methods all have their advantages and drawbacks, they are hampered by shortages, expense, and […]

The coronavirus and the related deaths of seventy thousand Americans and nearly two hundred thousand more people around the world, would seem to be a shared enemy that could bring people together – even people in a country as divided as ours. Instead, this pandemic has handed us new beliefs over which to divide. Stay […]

Lucky’s, the achingly trendy eatery on Coast Village Road, is living up to its name. The Paso Robles winery, PharaohMoans, has donated 100 bottles of their highly acclaimed 2017 Rhone-style wine, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going directly to the restaurant to help support the staffers affected by the coronavirus lockdown. Each bottle […]

Social activist Judi Weisbart, founder and president of Busy Woman Consulting, is now Santa Barbara’s Queen of Masks. The county has hired Judi as Face Covering Community Coordinator, she tells me. “The community desperately needs face coverings on every face,” she says. “There are other funds for healthcare workers PPE, but we must also help […]

Santa Barbara’s 55-year-old Rescue Mission is another local non-profit impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. “It is uniquely challenging to keep essential emergency services intact with appropriate safety measures in place for some of the neediest people in our community,” says president Rolf Geyling. “We have seen more people coming to us for food and shelter, […]

Responders Eligible for Affordable Child Care Families of first responders are the heroes behind the scenes, those supporting loved ones as they leave to do essential work. Thankfully, the Emergency Child Care Initiative (ECCI) is offering free and affordable child care to first, second, and third responders. Scholarships and opportunities for tuition reduction are available […]

Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner has launched a new plush toy version to raise money for coronavirus relief. Ty, owner of the Biltmore and the San Ysidro Ranch, has been putting up New York medical workers free of charge at his five-star Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan, as I have chronicled in this illustrious organ. […]

The coronavirus pandemic has stretched many local charitable organizations to the limit, particularly the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. “The need we are seeing now is unlike anything we’ve witnessed before,” says CEO Erik Talkin.”This disaster affecting everyone in the county, and the world, at exactly the same time is unprecedented. And the precipitous job […]

Like the majority of the Montecito community, residents at Casa Dorinda are quietly sheltering at home, acknowledging that they are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Casa Dorinda has taken strict precautions to ensure the virus does not make its way onto the 48-acre campus, located in the heart of Montecito. In a recent interview […]

When the coronavirus crisis first arrived in America, Sarah McLean figured she’d hunker down with her husband in the couple’s recently-purchased Santa Barbara home to wait out the shelter-in-place situation. The quarter-century veteran contemporary meditation and mindfulness teacher who co-founded the Montecito Meditation Center last year considers herself something of an introvert, and laying low […]

With plenty of extra time on my hands thanks to social distancing, I’m doing what millions of Americans are doing: reimagining my home office. Because quarantine is a great time to fixate on that which you control (or perceive you control). Sketching out a new blueprint, I asked myself: do we really need all these […]

High-heel enthusiast, boot camp novice and fancy recipe collector. Loves Flannery O’Connor and Breakfast with The Beatles. Formerly at  California Apparel News, Orange County Register and LA Times Community News. This year, Montecito residents welcomed spring quietly at home. Yet the season still offers serene outdoor pleasures plus a touch of social distancing. Here is […]