Tag archives: mudslides

Things We Learned at the State’s Emergency Preparedness Meeting
By Sharon Byrne   |   October 11, 2022

We’ve worked with California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on a number of fronts: homeowner’s insurance (and the lack of it in California), claims, legislation, and preparedness. Last week, he hosted quite the townhall on emergency preparedness, as part of the partnership the Department of Insurance has with the Governor’s emergency response and readiness agencies. We’ve […]

One805 Overview
By Richard Mineards   |   March 29, 2022

One805, the Santa Barbara charity founded after the Thomas Fire and devastating mudslides four years ago, hosted a boffo bash at the Montecito Club to update its many supporters on its activities. More than 70 guests listened as Richard Weston-Smith, president and co-founder, and John Thyne, a founder and chief financial officer, outlined the popular […]

Pay It Forward
By Richard Mineards   |   July 23, 2021

It was a case of kids helping kids when youngsters from Mountain View Elementary School donated $1,600 – 20 percent of their tickets sales from their annual school fundraiser – to Cold Spring School, which lost two pupils in the January mudslides and is currently trying to raise $485,000 after property tax revenues were impacted […]

Reflect. Restore. And Revival is Coming.
By Nick Masuda   |   July 1, 2021

La Casa de Maria has stayed dormant since the Montecito Debris Flow. The organization has chosen to learn more about the land before redeveloping. More than three years later, it has a plan and a potential reopening date. Cindy Faith Swain peeks through a chain-linked fence that was once completely unnecessary, as separation from San Ysidro […]

The Wall Street Bump
By Richard Mineards   |   January 21, 2021

Retired high tech executive Jan Wesemann is getting priceless publicity in the Wall Street Journal this week as she puts her 20-acre French country-style Montecito estate on the market for $12 million. Jan moved into the 7,600-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bathroom house, built in 2001, 10 years ago and brought up her four daughters on the Park […]

Three Years Later, Paul Madsen Rebuilds From the Ground Up
By Nick Schou   |   October 13, 2020

When we first met Paul Madsen, he was the subject of much speculation within a lower Montecito message board on Nextdoor.com. Over the summer, several community members had posted on the app that they’d observed (and had been observed by) a gentleman seated in a white SUV parked on Posilipo Lane, just past the Rosewood […]

Paul Madsen’s Long-Delayed HomeRebuilding Project Almost Ready to Break Ground
By Nick Schou   |   September 3, 2020

For a man accustomed to building and racing some of the world’s fastest cars, Paul Madsen could be forgiven for thinking that it wouldn’t take two years to receive a permit to rebuild his house, which was destroyed in the January 2018 debris flows. But as the Montecito Journal highlighted last week, so far, it’s […]

Focus on Film: Montecito Movie ‘Trail’-ers
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 30, 2020

Residents with a love for the outdoors – and isn’t that just about everyone in Montecito – might have a particular interest in the second event in Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s new Film Talk series that features viewings of short films produced locally followed by Q&A sessions with the filmmakers. The 15-minute Trail Heads […]

Dear Montecito: Clay Rodgers
By Stella Haffner   |   July 30, 2020

As I write the introduction for today’s letter, I’m doing something I usually don’t do while I write and edit: listen to music. I’m listening to a funky, young album called The Deep End produced by a composing duo who recorded the whole thing in only two weeks. Today we’re hearing from rising artist, Clay […]

Walking Through It
By Mackenzie Boss   |   July 23, 2020

When I was younger, I dreaded my parents’ weekend declaration of an impending family walk. I would plead to ride my bike alongside them; to run, skip, cartwheel, anything but walk. We would (slowly) stroll along the dirt path at the nearby Ennisbrook trail and my eyes would meander towards trees that needed climbing, streams […]

Generous Grants
By Richard Mineards   |   May 9, 2019

An avalanche of amazons descended on the Hilton for the 15th annual presentation of grants by the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara. Checks totaling $585,000 – $50,000 more than last year – went to nine local non-profit agencies, voted on by the membership of nearly 1,000 women and presented by Sandy Schoolfield and Maureen Ellenberger, […]

One Year Later
By Richard Mineards   |   January 17, 2019

On the first anniversary of its formation, the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade hosted a Montecito Rising bash at the Procore warehouse in Carpinteria for 500 guests. As darkening rain clouds loomed, the VIP reception, scheduled to be outside, was rapidly moved inside prior to the dinner prepared by a host of local eateries, including the […]

Remembering January Ninth
By James Buckley   |   January 10, 2019

The Day The Hill Came Down First, of course, there was the fire. The Thomas Fire, so named because it began on the campus of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula before devouring nearly 300,000 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara County along with nearly one thousand homes and/or structures. Following California’s cycle of cataclysms, […]

Portrait of a Fire Station
By Richard Mineards   |   December 27, 2018

Longtime Montecito resident Jeremy Harper has painted a work of our rarefied enclave’s historic fire station to mark the first anniversary of the fire and mudslide disasters, which has also been turned into a time-lapse video work commissioned by The Cheese and Wine Store’s Patrick Braid. Jeremy, who attended Montecito Union School – where he […]

Honorable Mentions
By Richard Mineards   |   September 27, 2018

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County hosted its Habitat Heroes celebration at Deckers rotunda when awards were handed out for sterling work involving Montecito’s catastrophic mudslides in January. The 2,454 volunteers spent 10,700 hours helping remove 42,000 tons of mud, recounted president Paul Wilson. The affiliate award went to Terra Taylor, while construction […]

Yacht Club Charity Gala
By Tim Buckley   |   September 20, 2018

The Santa Barbara Yacht Club (SBYC) got underway with their 14th Annual Charity Regatta benefiting Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care (VNHC) and celebrating our dedicated teachers. They were recognized for going 110 percent above and beyond the call of duty during the Thomas Fire and mudslides to continue their student’s education. They arranged alternate classroom […]

First Responders Honored
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   September 20, 2018

At a special ceremony at Fire Station 1 last week, the United States Postal Service unveiled a commemorative Forever Stamp that honors first responders. USPS district manager Alfred Santos told the large crowd that he was moved to host the unveiling in Montecito, following the Thomas Fire and January mudslides, and the exceptional work of […]

Why We Still Dig
By John Powell   |   September 13, 2018

Since the debris flow of January 9, 21 of the 23 victims have been found but, sadly, two have not. Lydia Sutthithepa and John “Jack” Cantin are still missing. The search for Jack and Lydia lies at the heart of our community’s quest for closure after this horrible tragedy. Looking for Montecito’s lost children is […]

Divine Intervention
By Steven A. Blum   |   June 14, 2018

“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 […]

High Tydes for Casino Comeback
By Richard Mineards   |   June 7, 2018

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 […]