Tag archives: Montecito
The Channel Islands YMCA has appointed Ryan Power as the new Executive Director of the Montecito Family YMCA. Power brings a breadth of experience in recreational management, having worked as the General Manager at La Costa Beach & Tennis Club, the Operations Manager at Pierpont Racquet Club, and leadership positions with the City of Ventura, […]
Newish Montecitan Susan Sofronas – recently arrived from the isle of Manhattan – is settling in nicely. She already adores our little woodland getaway, and as we sip java at sun-soaked Bree’osh on Coast Village, she charmingly parses her personal Tale of Two Cities with open delight. “If you think of New York City – […]
The Montecito Fire Protection District has five final chipping dates now through July: May 28: Arcady, Knapp, Cowles, Cottage, El Rancho, Sky View, Lanai Rd June 10: Sierra Vista, Nicholas, Ridge View, Canyon View, Sycamore Vista, Ranchito Vista, Calle Elegante, Calle Hermosa, Crest View June 24: East Mountain (100-1600 blocks), Irvine, Brooktree, Upper Hot Springs […]
Montecito’s lawyer turned prolific author-about-town Steven Gilbar, who has written some 20 “shamelessly non-commercial” volumes in and about Santa Barbara since 1979, has spent the last several years more micro-focused on Montecito. Gilbar penned The Little Book of Montecito Writers in 2022 and followed it up a year later with a similarly casual treatise about […]
When M.E.R.R.A.G. was formed in 1987 as Montecito Emergency Response and Recovery Action Group, the uber-local organization started serving a vital purpose as the Montecito Fire Protection District’s neighborhood eyes and ears through a cohort of trained, embedded local volunteers augmenting our first responders’ efforts to keep the community safe. Growing out of a newly […]
Most locals are probably aware of the best Santa Barbara place to visit every Memorial Day weekend for a glimpse of the chalk drawings during the I Madonnari street painting festival. They know they can spend a colorful summer evening watching music and dancing from Mexico and other indigenous Californios cultures during La Fiesta Pequeña, […]
Michelin star or not, Montecito and The Hamptons share riviera and foodie status. On the map, they’re opposites, split by a 3,000-mile expanse. But Montecito and The Hamptons – both aspirational coastal enclaves – mirror each other in special ways, from idyllic weather and the bon vivant lifestyle they both promote, to the sophisticated travelers […]
A new functional medicine clinic has opened in the Upper Village: Montecito Wellness Clinic, owned by Montecito mom and integrative doctor Dr. Talina Hermann, launched publicly last week with a grand opening this past Friday. “It’s always been my dream to open a clinic here,” Hermann told us last week as she geared up for […]
It has been seven months since I had the pleasure of sharing my writing with the readers of this newspaper. My debut novel — Montecito — was serialized in these very pages from July of 2022 to February of 2023. As Gwyn Lurie and I expressed in our respective introductions to Chapter One, Montecito, while […]
Kristen d’Offay grew up loving all things sparkly. She was raised in Houston with a grandmother who was a fashion designer and who loved sequins and dresses. But the idea to do something with fashion stayed locked up in a closet for years – while she worked! After years in corporate recruiting and raising three […]
Last week I wrote about the long demise of the Santa Barbara News-Press and the poignance that the final chapter of its tortured story turned out to be Chapter 7. And I touched on the irreplaceable role local news plays in a robust, functioning democracy. A recent piece in the notably not-local New York Times […]
Local literature lover and attorney Steven Gilbar was busy promoting his latest work, The Little Book of Montecito Actors at Tecolote in the upper village. The 207-page book spotlights the stars of stage and screen who have lived in our rarefied enclave over the years, including Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell to more […]
We feel so lucky to live in Montecito, a beautiful community with great neighbors and friendly dogs. And you owe me $30,000. This is what I was forced to spend on legal and engineering fees trying to stop your company from ripping out our landscaping and killing our trees in order to put a large, […]
I feel I must reply to the Journal’s article (“The MPC Shuffle”) of Jan. 26 regarding my removal from the Montecito Planning Commission, as it contained several errors. Additionally, there were important issues that I raised at the hearing before the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors to which they did not respond, and which the Journal […]
Governor Gavin Newsom toured the flood damage statewide on Friday, January 13 and stopped in Montecito in the late afternoon to visit the Randall Road Debris Basin, where over 80 California National Guard were deployed and working around the clock to do environmental remedial improvements that would ensure the safety of the area, and direct […]
California Governor Gavin Newsom visited the Randall Road Debris Basin on Friday, January 13. The visit from Governor Newsom comes after a National Guard unit was deployed from Chico, CA, on January 12, 2023, to assist in clearing out rubble from the Randall Road Debris Basin in preparation for the upcoming storm. As a special […]
It’s the height of autumn now, with cold nights, falling leaves, pumpkins everywhere, and the most heartwarming of holidays this week. As we look back over this past year, we have a tremendous amount to be grateful for here in Montecito. Yes, the weather and scenery are lovely, and it’s fun to visit the villages […]
The days are getting shorter and cooler. Fog is drifting in, and it feels like spooky season is rolling in with it. Everyone is craving pumpkin spice, and dreams of the Great Pumpkin lighting up Halloween steal into our children’s blissful sleep. All of this can only mean one thing… Yes, it’s time for Beautification […]
Whether you’re new to Montecito, or have been here for decades, you probably adore the bucolic scenery, laid-back vibe, and rural feel here. Well, that didn’t just happen all by itself. A heck of a lot of people who cared deeply spent decades shaping the community we experience in Montecito today. The Montecito Association was, […]
New to the area? Experiencing an ongoing issue at your home or in your neighborhood? There are people for that. The County of Santa Barbara has more than 4,000 employees that can help with everything from behavioral wellness to tax collection to County Fire and Sheriff’s operations. But knowing who to call for what can […]
