Tag archives: people of montecito
It’s painful to think, to imagine, to realize, that I’ll never experience the joy of being with Erin Graffy de Garcia ever again. She passed away – surrounded by family – at Cottage Hospital at 2:54 am on January 21 after a frighteningly short bout with cancer. To say that she’ll be missed is a […]
Bridget Mitchell is a Montecito native living in Los Angeles pursuing a creative career in costume design. From backstage show repairs for recognizable characters to behind-the-scenes Hulu sets to cruise ship performances at sea, there have been diverse adventures in her craft. Mitchell’s achievements speak for themselves in her over decade-long pursuit towards her craft. […]
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 – […]
Few have had a grander international presence while living in Montecito than a wealthy Chicago businessman named Avery Brundage. His story is a quintessentially American one – a rags-to-riches, Horatio Alger tale, though not without its twists. Brundage grew up in the Teddy Roosevelt era of bold, rugged achievers. Born to modest circumstances in Detroit […]
You know what keeps me awake at night? My stream of consciousness! Ba dum tss! If you’re not laughing, just know that a joke like that would kill at a cognitive psychology conference. But don’t worry, you’re not missing out because this week I am bringing the psychology conference to us with a little help […]
Local resident Eva Rhodes finds the area’s blend of international perspectives and appreciation for natural beauty to be truly unique. With a background that spans across various cultures and cities across the globe, she has a deep affinity for multicultural environments. “Montecito and Santa Barbara have a high density of international people who have a […]
Sophie McNally, a visionary entrepreneur and owner of the company Kitchenette, is changing the way people interact with food through innovative technology. And she is doing it right here in Montecito! “We moved to Montecito during Covid. During that time, we were so worried about the virus and I didn’t trust going out to eat, […]
Teresa McWilliams, born in Warsaw, Poland in 1937, relocated to Santa Barbara in September 1949 and has been a resident of Montecito for longer than many of us have been alive. Reflecting on the community’s transformation, McWilliams reminisces about a Montecito from a past era. “I’ve lived here for a long time, over 70 years, […]
Steven Gilbar – attorney, artist, litterateur, gadfly – is Montecito’s answer to the Gutenberg press. This lone figure’s prolific authorship is surely responsible for our community’s overweening literacy – the screamfests about Dickens over breakfast, the fisticuffs over the provenance of the term “Chicken à la King.” Gilbar, once and future member of the California […]
Montecito author and illustrator Bill Dalziel has published his second children’s book Charlie’s Dream, a sequel to his first Ulma, the Kidnapped Tree, which he will help launch at Tecolote in the Upper Village on December 3, with 10 percent of the book purchases at the bash donated to Storyteller Children’s Center, a local nonprofit. […]
When I started this column, I knew essentially what I wanted to do. For new endeavors, what you want to do is largely defined by what you can do. And for me, that meant speaking to, about, and for Montecito’s young alumni. Along the way, I learned that good newspapers strike a balance between the […]
Helene Zalk Pollock was born on January 8, 1919, in Duluth, Minnesota. Her parents Estelle and Louis Zalk moved to Los Angeles in the early 1930s. Her father Louis found success in the early days of the steel industry and later as a business leader when he introduced theosophy to Southern California and co-founded the […]
When you think of the words “girl band,” the first thing that comes to mind might be the nostalgic groups of the ‘90s: Spice Girls, Dixie Chicks, The Cranberries. But what makes a girl band is its truest definition: a group of women who harmonize together. Enter Montecito mom and GRLBND founder, Kara Welker. Kara […]
Pierre Lafond passed away this past Sunday at the age of 92, after 60 years in Santa Barbara enterprise overlapping a 25-year career in architecture. Pierre Lafond and his wife, Wendy Foster, developed a number of shops in Montecito and in greater Santa Barbara. And they were vintners and early adopters of Central Coast viticulture, […]
“My parents don’t work in an office, and they never went through interviews. So they wouldn’t be able to teach me this type of stuff,” says Fatima Lopez. A first generation American and the first in her family to attend college, Fatima reminds me that details such as how to conduct yourself at an interview […]
Sometimes you just want flowers. Not for a holiday. Not for a birthday. Not for a wedding – just because. Why? Because flowers are pretty! Who doesn’t love a bright bouquet sitting on your table or by your bed at night? And Annie Gray is a Montecito mom who knows a thing or two about […]
Jesse Alexander, 92, a photographer who documented the golden age of motorsport, passed away on December 14, 2021, in Santa Barbara. He was comfortable and at home, with his beloved wife, Nancy, by his side, holding his hand. Jesse was born on April 15, 1929, in Santa Barbara to Florence Louise Lyman and Junius Beverly […]
As the world of computers and scientific technology leaps forward, the phrase “machine learning” becomes more buzz-y than ever. In layspeak, machine learning describes the collaboration between human and machine — we set parameters while letting the machine find patterns in the data. But as any good data scientist knows, we can set all the […]
When I talk to little kids about psychology, I tell them that psychologists are interested in how people think, feel, and act. I like to remind them that there are many amazing things that change about us as we grow up. For example, if exposed to sign language from an early age, deaf children will […]
Tourists flock from all over to appreciate our beaches, exciting selection of food, and terracotta horizon. Some tourists may even ask themselves where a Santa Barbara local would want to go on vacation when they live in such a visual and cultural paradise. We may take a jaunty trip to Solvang, a quaint stay in […]
