Tag archives: kids

An Interview with Don MacMannis, PhD Songs with a Message
By Ann Brode   |   October 17, 2023

Don MacMannis, (aka Dr. Mac) has wanted to work with children for as long as he can remember. He tells the story of sitting in a pre-med class at Dartmouth, thinking he was going to be a pediatrician, when it dawned on him that child psychology was his life’s true work. And so began a […]

College Daze
By Gwyn Lurie   |   September 13, 2022

From the day our children are born, we begin the process of teaching them everything they need to know so that one day they can leave home. And then, they do. Little ingrates! Like so many parents, I took my firstborn daughter to college last week. I flew across the country and dropped her off […]

The Key Class
By Steven A. Blum   |   July 19, 2022

John Daly was in his mid-60s and had already enjoyed a highly successful career as an international event producer who advised his Fortune 100 corporate clients on proper protocols at the Olympics and World Cup and other such events around the world. But his awareness that the overwhelming need for more civility and social skills […]

The Riviera Ridge School
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 21, 2022

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” Shakespeare employed that now famous line in his play Romeo and Juliet to imply that the naming of things is irrelevant. The Riviera Ridge School might beg to differ.  The highly-esteemed independent educational institution that serves […]

Santa Barbara Courthouse Reopens Docent Tours
By Montecito Journal   |   June 21, 2022

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse Docent Council reopened the courthouse for tours this past Monday, June 13. The courthouse, constructed in 1929 following the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake, is a landmark popular among both locals and visitors.  Free one-hour tours are offered Monday through Friday at 10:30 am and 2:00 pm, with no reservation required. […]

CommUnify and Head Start at 55
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 10, 2022

Head Start, the federal early childhood education program, was established in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty with a goal of promoting school readiness to young children from low-income families through providing health, educational, nutritional, and social services. Two years later, Community Action Commission, or CAC, incorporated as a nonprofit to […]

Drivers and Navigators Rally for a Cause
By Zach Rosen   |   May 10, 2022

“And remember… It’s a Rally – not a Race.” The statement was met with general merriment from the crowd of drivers and navigators meeting in Hope Ranch the night before the Rally 4 Kids was to be held. As the meeting continued, Michael Baker, CEO of the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara […]

United & Thriving: Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara Combine Forces
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 30, 2021

It was just about a month into the pandemic when the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara (UBGC) fully united, as the downtown club agreed to merge and fully centralize the 83-year-old organization. That might seem like a strange time to be making structural changes, as the merger was completed in April 2020, […]

The Little Fire Engine That Could
By Nick Schou   |   December 24, 2020

You might recognize Dana Newquist and his 1937 Ford Fire Engine from Montecito’s annual Fourth of July parade, which he cofounded in 1996. Newquist bought the engine about 20 years ago from a Hollywood producer who used the vehicle for only a day – the lovingly restored, bright-red truck still bears the previous owner’s initials […]

Daddy Daughter Day: Bridges to a Closer Relationship
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 13, 2020

It was on her thirteenth birthday that Isabelle Bridges moved to Montecito with her family – actor father Jeff Bridges, mother Susan, and sisters Jessie and Haley – leaving L.A. following the1994 Northridge Earthquake for the verdant hills of the village. So that was a few years after the last of the play dates with […]

United They Stand
By Lynda Millner   |   August 6, 2020

After eight months of negotiations, the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara is joining the United Boys and Girls Clubs of the County. This is the first time since the first club was founded in 1938 that all the clubs from Carpinteria to Lompoc will operate together. This affects 5,000 kids along with 450 […]

Ready to Rally
By James Buckley   |   July 5, 2018

Okay, quick, what do the following names have in common: Denzel Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Shaquille O’Neal, Edward James Olmos, Jeff Henley (VP, Oracle, also president of United Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara County advisory board), and Angel Martinez (former CEO, Deckers Brands)? Give up? They were all at one time or another members […]

Perils of Kid-Lit
By Ashleigh Brilliant   |   May 3, 2018

Here’s a quiz question for you: What one famous piece of literature celebrates (1) a musical feline? (2) an athletic bovine? (3) an amused canine? (4) some amorous tableware? Stumped? Then I’ll have to remind you: Hey diddle diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle,The Cow jumped over the Moon.The little Dog laughed to see such […]

YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   April 26, 2018

On April 21, the California Highway Patrol’s chipmunk mascot, Chipper, helped to donate toys to families affected by the recent fires and mudslides at the Montecito YMCA.  Spin Master toy company donated 12.5 pallets of toys to the California Highway Patrol. Chipper passed out toys and greeted kids at the event, which is a national […]

Hold Your Kids Tight
By Montecito Journal   |   January 25, 2018

We are sending this email to all our friends and family who have reached out to us in regard to the Montecito fire and mudslide tragedies and evacuations. The story begins over a month ago, when Lynda and I were forced to evacuate our Romero Canyon home due to the largest wildfire in California history. Three […]