Tag archives: Debris flow

The Montecito Motor Classic is by all accounts a tremendous success. The California Central Coast has long had a love affair with classic cars. The show’s home is on Coast Village Road, drawing fans from up and down the coast to ogle the fabulous array of assiduously maintained classic autos. The Motor Classic also raises […]

Many quiet heroes of these last few months have escaped the deserved visibility that first responders and other notables have received in this and other local media. But, we must try to name some of these quieter-but-not-lesser heroes, and thank them as best we can and as frequently as they come to mind. From my […]

Five months after the catastrophic debris flow that damaged or destroyed 470 homes in Montecito and took the lives of 23 members of our community, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) released an updated flood map on June 11, which will stand as the basis on which property owners rebuild their homes.  The map, which is […]

“It was an act of God,” is a phrase I hear from time to time. Not from preachers but from landowners, and sometimes their insurance adjusters, trying to avoid liability for injury caused by a natural condition on their land to neighbors. The question arises: Does a landowner have the duty to remedy a natural […]

First, the bad news: “There’s plenty of material up here waiting to come down,” says Kevin Taylor, division chief of Operations at Montecito Fire Department. He says this as he, I, and Montecito Fire chief Chip Hickman examine the Montecito back country and the dry steep mountains directly above in a four-person, single-rotor helicopter flown […]

Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner‘s Coral Casino is alive and well! After five months of closure because of January’s devastating mudslides which engulfed the tony beachside locale, the club, built in 1937, is back to its sparkling pristine self. To celebrate, after multi-million dollar renovations and remedial work, the club – which also underwent a […]

Grief is a given in this life and a natural part of the human experience, but many people refuse to allow themselves to dive fully into their sadness, and definitely not in public. Yet many other cultures throughout time have processed grief in community; its expression is a casualty of our modern times. Alexis Slutzky […]

Without a mayor and a town council that have both authority to set priorities and resources to fund selected programs, disaster recovery options are limited. Local efforts are confined to supporting the county government team and offering a host of volunteer services. The historic role, for example, of the Montecito Association (MA) has been “the […]

Sometimes it takes a village. That point was well demonstrated three weeks ago, when dozens of Montecito residents – mostly strangers to each other – gathered at a community roundtable to share what they’d learned so far from the Thomas Fire and Debris Flow insurance claim experience.  There was some initial trepidation the group might […]

On June 5, Matt Pontes, assistant County CEO, presented the SB Board of Supervisors with a draft of the Strategic Recovery Plan, which outlines the County’s approach to ongoing recovery efforts following the Thomas Fire and January 9 debris flow. “We’re all after building a resilient Montecito,” said Pontes, who has taken the role of […]

Earlier this week, One805, the team that organized the massive February 25 concert fundraiser at the Nesbitt Estate, the Kick Ash Bash, distributed the funds raised by the event to various organizations.  More than $2 million was raised from the Kick Ash Bash, which drew 2,500+ people to a large-scale, celebrity-filled concert and kid-friendly carnival; […]

After nearly five months of closure following the January 9 debris flow, the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore is slated to reopen its doors this Friday, June 1. “We are so looking forward to welcoming back our guests, as well as our local community who have been so supportive of us during this time,” said […]

In 1991, the residents of Montecito engaged in a heated debate, turning down a vote for cityhood by fewer than 100 votes. Every 10 years or so, the debate over home rule rises again. Advocates believe that local knowledge of local needs allows communities that are self-governing to better plan their own future, to control […]

Montecito mudslide survivors Kim Cantin and her 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, were guests on fellow resident Ellen DeGeneres‘s TV talk show and presented with a check for $20,000, courtesy of Walmart, to help rebuild their lives. Both were rescued after their home was demolished by the devastating slides in January, and Lauren’s rescue was seen around […]

As I entered the parking area on the Laguna Blanca Lower School campus, everything looked as I remembered it at the end of the 2016-17 school year. Children were happily playing, staff were all present and accounted for, spring flowers could be seen placed artistically in the carefully pruned landscaping that surrounds the perimeter of […]

This Sunday, May 27, at 8 pm, KEYT will air the Teens Sing for Santa Barbara sold-out concert that took place on March 9 at the Marjorie Luke Theatre. The concert raised $65,000 for the Unity Shoppe Santa Barbara and Montecito Disaster Survivors Fund and featured the talents of local teens, as well as Montecito […]

Mark your calendars for June 11, 2018. That’s the expected date for the public release of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Recovery Maps for Montecito. The map release will mark a critical milepost in making the rebuilding decisions that will shape the future character of Montecito for the next 50 years.  FEMA Recovery […]

When the mud and debris from the mountains coursed through Montecito back on January 9, Robert Cassidy immediately felt the need to support the victims and the community in some way. “Like so many people, I wanted to help, but I didn’t really know what I could do,” said Cassidy, a classical pianist who only […]

Montecito Family YMCA has partnered with more than a dozen local organizations and leaders to provide assistance to the Montecito community in response to the Thomas Fire and mudslides. In collaboration with these local organizations, the YMCA was able to assist in providing childcare, mud removal, youth activities, clothes, and toys for affected Montecito residents. […]

The 805 Conservation, the Bucket Brigade, Hope 805, the Montecito Center, and the Sheriff’s Department are inviting property owners and family members affected by the debris flow to view items found in the mud. These objects include things found by the Bucket Brigade and Habitat for Humanity, items held at the Sheriff’s Office, and unknown […]