Tag archives: oil wells

In a momentous occasion on Tuesday, November 28, Heal the Ocean (HTO) was presented with a check for $500,000 from Senator Monique Limón representing California Senate District 19 and Assemblymember Gregg Hart representing the 37th California Assembly District, to support HTO’s Summerland Oil Mitigation Study (SOMS).  The study was proposed and started by Heal the […]

A presentation of the status and action plan regarding the oil wells and seepage issues at Summerland Beach was done by Petroleum Production Engineer at the California State Lands Commission (CSLC) Walter Scott with Harry Rabin and Hillary Hauser of Heal the Ocean (HTO) at a public meeting held by the Summerland Citizens Association on […]

A mysterious oil slick in the waters off Summerland Beach continues to be closely monitored by multiple agencies, while beach access remains closed to the public. According to Summerland Citizens Association Board President Phyllis Noble, the oil slick, which appeared earlier this month following heavy rains, now appears to be breaking up and no additional […]

If you live in Montecito or Santa Barbara, you’ve noticed the oil and gas platforms looming on the horizon. Unless you’ve been in the area since the early 1960s, you’ve never known a coastline without their presence. Today, the 27 platforms off the Southern and Central Coast of California are nearing the end of their […]

Heal the Ocean (HTO) has enjoyed a remarkable record of success, particularly for how the nonprofit that was founded barely more than 20 years ago to address contamination of the waters off Summerland from coastal septic system runoff has turned comparatively smaller donations into big projects. HTO smartly and enviably has leveraged modest sums to […]

Kevin Frank and his wife, Katie, owners of K. Frank, the Montecito men and women’s luxury and designer clothing store on Coast Village Road, moved to Summerland six years ago after being attracted by the “small town charm and walkability.” It wasn’t until they toured their house that they became gob smacked by the incredible […]

My great Aunt Betty laughed when I bought my house in Summerland in the early 1980s. She told me that her husband, my great uncle Heywood, used to work on those wells when they lived in Summerland in the 1930s. Little did I know at the time that the very oil wells he worked on […]

Shock and Law In an article in MJ’s Dec 3-10 issue, Rinaldo S. Brutoco describes the recent Supreme Court decision in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v Cuomo as astounding, shocking, incredible, and “out of left field.” The only thing shocking to this former trial lawyer is Mr. Brutoco’s total misstatement of the facts of […]

Construction crews are carrying out important cleanup work on two of Summerland’s leaky, abandoned oil wells located just offshore. The work should be completed by November 15, but in the meantime a portion of Lookout Park’s parking lot and the beach area are temporarily being used. Thanks to Heal the Ocean and former longtime Summerlandian […]

SOS California, the acronym for Stop Oil Seeps, celebrated the 11th year of its founding with a socially gridlocked bash at the University Club. Co-founder Lad Handelman, describing himself as an “environmentalist,” said he had spent 15 years of his life supporting marine mammal and other resource protection. “I see myself as being a reality-based […]

The non-profit SOS (Stop Oil Seeps) held their annual holiday soirée in January at the University Club. Co-founder Lad Handelman was holding court with all his friends and the Club was full with members and guests sipping wine and scoffing down sliders and pizza. As Alice Green said in her blog, “Natural processes can wreak […]

Is the drought over for a while?None of us knows.Is water security important?Of course. Is this security worth having your monthly water bills increase a quarter to a third more? If your average monthly water bill is $150, how happy will you feel if it goes to $200 a month, especially during normal rain times […]