Tag archives: covid

Pam Peterson of Hair Lounge of Montecito
By Nick Schou   |   April 16, 2020

It was mid-March when Pam Peterson, owner of the Hair Lounge of Montecito, realized she was going to have to close her popular salon. It was a more delicate decision than for many local employers, because all eight stylists who work at the shop are independent contractors, and on top of that, although California didn’t […]

Montecito Market Update
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   April 16, 2020

Here’s an update on the state of the real estate market, as our community continues to adhere to the statewide shelter-at-home order. Like most other industries, the real estate industry has slowed significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of press time, there are currently 109 properties on the market in Montecito, with nine of […]

COVID-19 Updates
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   April 16, 2020

At the Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday, April 13, Public Health Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso reported that the current shelter-at-home order in Santa Barbara County is working, causing a “flattening of the curve” to prevent overwhelming our local hospital system. “We can’t be less restrictive,” Dr. Do-Reynoso said. “Staying at home and physical distancing […]

Montecito Association Virtually Meets
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   April 16, 2020

The plans for the Montecito Sanitary District Essential Services building and associated project components were discussed by the Montecito Association Board of Directors on Tuesday, as the project will be in front of the Montecito Board of Architectural Review this Thursday, April 16. The County of Santa Barbara has denied the issuance of an emergency […]

Laughter in the Time of Corona
By Leslie Westbrook   |   April 16, 2020

We all need some comic relief in the time of corona, and there’s plenty of distractions around to tickle our funny bones. While watching CBS This Morning news last week, I caught a segment that featured a re-envisioned Fleetwood Mac cover which was originally created by Santa Barbara designer Larry Vigon. Someone had manipulated the […]

A Chat with Summerland Artist Richard Aber
By Leslie Westbrook   |   April 16, 2020

Contemporary artist/sculptor and thinker Richard Aber and his wife, Carol, have lived on bucolic Greenwell Road in Summerland, where he has created art diligently in his home studio on their property, for the past 41 years. His contemplative pieces have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including in several exhibitions in Italy, where the coronavirus has […]

Multiple Meditations
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 16, 2020

Sarah McLean, the co-founder and lead meditation teacher at Montecito Meditation, which opened its doors just last summer, is embodying her McLean Meditation Institute’s motto of “sowing the seeds of peace” by offering free meditation over Zoom four times a day. “(It’s important to) take care of your nervous system and find more calmness during […]

Music as Medicine in Troubling Times
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 16, 2020

If the coronavirus hadn’t turned so quickly into a pandemic, Mick and Tess Pulver would likely have been back in Santa Barbara earlier this month to conduct a “Song of the Soul” workshop, a two-day exploration to find “the song inside you that’s just waiting to break out.” The weekend event is a truncated version […]

Social Solidarity
By Mitchell Kriegman   |   April 16, 2020

The Quarantine Economy Julie McMurry lives in Santa Barbara and is a specialist in public health with a degree from the University of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is currently an assistant professor, senior researcher, at Oregon State University in the College of Public Health. She wrote the manifesto which became flattenthecurve.com […]

Santa Barbara’s Dire Pre-Existing Conditions and COVID-19
By Mitchell Kriegman   |   April 16, 2020

“Put it this way, the glass is more than half empty. Let’s just throw the glass out the window. Let’s forget it. There’s distrust. There’s disdain. That kind of baggage,” Jason Harris admitted. He’s Santa Barbara’s newly hired, first ever, Economic Development Manager (EDM). He’s moving his family from Santa Monica to Thousand Oaks, not […]

Beer and Bread to the Rescue
By Nick Schou   |   April 16, 2020

For a man who brews beer, Montecito resident Kristopher Parker, the grandson of Fess Parker, the famed winemaker and 1950s television actor of Davy Crockett fame, has a somewhat surprising family background. “I grew up in the wine business,” Parker confirms. “My dad is a winemaker, but winemakers drink beer, and he also did home […]

Appleton Partners Turns 3D Printers into Mask Makers
By Nick Schou   |   April 16, 2020

During normal times, Appleton Partners, the architecture firm founded by Marc Appleton and based in Santa Barbara and Santa Monica, uses 3D printers to build models of custom houses as well as individual design features. But in mid-March, as news began to build of the health dangers posed by the looming coronavirus pandemic, the firm […]

Magic Moves Online
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 16, 2020

Gene Urban, the veteran magician who specialized in close-up tricks – the ones performed within inches of your eyes – has had to take a siesta from his weekly appearances at Satellite Wine Bar and the Magic Castle Cabaret. So he’s upped the ante online in terms of not only offering updated videos of his […]

Jazz Society Joins the Jump to Streaming
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 16, 2020

The Santa Barbara Jazz Society doesn’t have much in its own archives to air during our shelter-in-place era, but the folks who run it are offering some links to fill in the gaps until the nonprofit can stage its next monthly concert at SOhO after the all clear order. If live is king, you’ll want […]

Focus on Film: Riviera Reaches Out
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 16, 2020

Film is a medium that lends itself perfectly to streaming and other methods of home delivery, perhaps a perfectly-placed panacea during the pandemic, entertainment-wise at least. No one needs an introduction to Netflix, Amazon Prime and the like, but perhaps some prodding is in order to visit our local cinematic specialists. The Santa Barbara International […]

4Qs with Kenny Loggins
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 16, 2020

Montecito’s singer-songwriter hero is logging his time during the pandemic. Kenny Loggins is staying at home during the shelter-in-place era as the COVID-19 pandemic stopped everything in its tracks. Actually, make that homes. The 72-year-old singer-songwriter, who began scoring hits back in the early 1970s in a duo with Jim Messina, found fertile ground with […]

Camerata Pacifica Curates Concerts for Pandemic
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 16, 2020

Camerata Pacifica was ready when the coronavirus pandemic became a crisis forcing cancellations and resulting in sheltering-in-place orders. The chamber music ensemble had already been compiling videos of its performance for more than a decade. “We definitely had a head start,” said Adrian Spence, the organization’s founding executive and artistic director. “When I see others […]

The Home Front
By Claudia Schou   |   April 16, 2020

With California’s statewide stay-at-home order in effect, businesses are closing and people are hunkering down at home, but still working, courtesy of Zoom and FaceTime. We spoke to four Montecito residents about how they’re managing to keep their businesses going during the coronavirus crisis: Vera Kong, Piano Instructor I spend most of my day connecting […]

The Books Miss You!
By Kim Crail   |   April 16, 2020

In the absence of open hours and programs, our branch activity has come to a standstill. The Montecito Library has been closed to the public since March 13. That said, you can still access important library services including help with job search, applying for unemployment, answers to your reference questions, book delivery, digital services, and […]

Zoomers Helping Boomers
By Victoria Chow   |   April 16, 2020

In the midst of a global crisis, the pandemic and forced quarantine for Americans is causing strife among everyone. The ones that are getting hit the hardest? The elderly and immunocompromised. To stop the curve of the virus, people are encouraged to self-isolate. However, this serves as a major problem, as many people still have […]