Tag archives: health

Knowing Your Circle of Control
By Mitchell Kriegman   |   August 27, 2020

Julie McMurry starts her new Online COVID Family Update with a joke. “An epidemiologist, an ICU doctor, and a scientist all walk into a bar (or cafe or family gathering or get on a plane). I’m just kidding, they know better.” That joke may not get her on the Jimmy Kimmel show as a hot […]

Staying Grounded, When Everything is Up in the Air
By Ann Brode   |   August 13, 2020

A bit of uncertainty can be exciting. A script with a surprise ending has intrigue. Embracing the unknown is part of the artistic process. But when the reliable routines of everyday life have been scrambled, it’s a whole different story. Negotiating the new normal of social distancing, working at home, and Zoom classrooms has challenged […]

Interview with 5G Free SB
By Joanne A Calitri   |   June 25, 2020

5G Free SB is a local grassroots group whose mission is, “To advocate for wired technology known as Fiber Optic To The Premises (FTTP) in Santa Barbara County. To stop unnecessary and excessive densification of wireless microwave radio frequency radiation which science has proven to be harmful to our health and the environment. Wired technology […]

Pilot Organic Agriculture Program
By Leslie Westbrook   |   June 11, 2020

The Carpinteria Unified School District at their May 12 board meeting approved the leasing of a portion of the Whitney acreage that has been in limbo as a potential new campus site for Summerland School for as long as I can remember. Leslie Person Ryan’s Organic Sweetwater Farms (OSF) will be planting four acres of […]

A Moving Inspiration
By Ann Brode   |   May 21, 2020

The past few weeks of suspended routines, social isolation, and uncertainty have been tough on us and a challenge for our bodies. Regrouping at home and grappling with the full scope of health and financial considerations is a full-time job with lots of scary variables. Even such basics as shopping for food and pumping gas […]

Montecito Sanitary District Teams with UCSB to Test Feces for COVID-19
By Nick Schou   |   May 7, 2020

Just how many Montecito residents have the dreaded coronavirus, aka COVID-19? Or to put it another way: Just how much COVID-19 is in Montecito’s collective supply of excreta? Thanks to an ongoing COVID-19 tracing project by Dr. Patricia Holden, a professor of environmental microbiology at UC Santa Barbara, and the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD), we […]

Medicare Explained
By Christopher Gallo   |   April 16, 2020

Most people think of Medicare as the health insurance nirvana: get to age 65 and there’s a free healthcare plan waiting to take you through retirement. With political debate centering around expanding the program, it’s important to understand what it will provide and what it won’t. First, who qualifies? With more than 50 million people […]

COVID-19 Updates
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   April 9, 2020

As of press time, Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reports 218 cases of COVID-19 in the county, which includes 14 cases in the South County communities of Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria. Of the over 200 cases, it was announced earlier this week that 37 of those are healthcare workers; a number that the Public […]

Santa Barbara’s Stitch Witch Now on Mask Duty
By Nick Schou   |   April 2, 2020

A decade ago, after working at Nordstrom for several years, Ellen Sztuk took a lunch break one day and called up her husband, telling him she was going to quit her job. That night, when she came home from work, her husband asked her what she could possibly be thinking. “I told him that I […]

Get Off the Couch!
By Michelle Ebbin   |   April 2, 2020

Hello, my social distancing, hand washing friends out there! How are you coping amidst all this mayhem? Does anyone even know what day it is? As the apocalyptic pandemic of COVID-19 intensifies and our collective anxiety increases exponentially each day we remain under quarantine, I think it’s remarkable that any of us can peel ourselves […]

Go Red for Women
By Lynda Millner   |   February 27, 2020

The ballroom of the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort was a sea of red, literally. It was time for the annual American Heart Association “Go Red for Women” luncheon when everyone is encouraged to wear red. And they do. Adding to that were fabric boas for all the committee members and blinking red heart necklaces […]

Slipping into Silence at Sunburst
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 13, 2020

Over the last few years, the Dive into Silence weekend retreat at Sunburst Sanctuary has provided respite for all sorts of seekers, including at least one Montecito resident who wanted to find some solace after all the nervous-system challenges of the Thomas Fire and debris flows in the winter of 2017-18. Others have attended as […]

Just Breathe
By Michelle Ebbin   |   February 6, 2020

Are you stressed out? Is your heart racing, your breath shallow, and your mind scattered and unfocused? If the answer is yes and you’d like an effective, drug-free way to calm yourself down, I have a simple remedy for you that’s scientifically proven to work and literally right under your nose. Every Wednesday at Physical […]

Amazing Gracie
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 9, 2020

Just over five years ago, Grace Fisher was a normal, healthy, happy, and extremely active high school teenager who was proficient at three musical instruments and eagerly anticipating attending the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston the following fall. Then, out of nowhere, tragedy struck at her 17th birthday party when she suddenly developed a severe […]

A New Year, New Decade, New You
By Michelle Ebbin   |   January 9, 2020

For years, I’ve traveled far and wide to try new wellness products and now there’s something available in our neck of the woods that can help you power up your wellness and self-care routine. This miracle machine, offered at Aesthetics Montecito, is called the HOCATT, which stands for “Hyperthermic Ozone & Carbonic Acid Transdermal Therapy.” […]

VNAHealth
By Lynda Millner   |   October 17, 2019

Synergy: The bonus that is achieved, when things work together harmoniously.” – Mark Twain. Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care (VNHC) hosted a reception at the Montecito Club to celebrate a legacy of synergy and learn about important changes in our local healthcare community. Medical director and board member Dr. Michael Bordofsky surprised us all with […]

What the Health
By Richard Mineards   |   July 18, 2019

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics launched its Healthy People, Healthy Communities campaign with a sunset soirée at the charming rustic home of Santa Barbara Foundation president Ron Gallo. There are eight clinic locations in the network and it is hoped $20,000,000 can be raised over the next five years, including $6,750,000 for a new Westside Clinic […]

Dr. Garofalo CoolSculpting
By Zach Rosen   |   July 18, 2019

Diet and exercise are the cornerstones of any healthy lifestyle, but where one’s body stores fat is largely genetic and not a measure of overall fitness. Even someone with a single digit body fat percentage can have fat accumulate in a problem area like the abdomen. Despite what many want to believe, traditional weight lifting […]

‘Artist’s Way,’ All Over Again
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 11, 2019

Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, originally self-published in 1991, grew out of the failure of her first feature film as a director called God’s Will, which earned scathing reviews.It’s safe to say that Artist’s Way has fared a lot better, as Cameron harnessed ideas in creative personal development […]

Claiming Heritage for Healing
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 23, 2019

Over of the last several years, Unity of Santa Barbara has become a hub for non-church related spiritual and personal growth lectures, workshops, gatherings and more as well as ongoing meditation groups, “A Course in Miracles” study sessions and sound healing, among other offerings. Now that Unity is in search of replacement for its popular […]