Tag archives: Randy Rowse

Over six years ago (March 26, 2020), I published an article “Voting Paradoxes?” that showed how a candidate disliked by most voters can win an election. After I wrote that, it happened in Santa Barbara. Randy Rowse became mayor while winning just 38.6% of the vote. Because two opponents split the opposition vote. Nearly two-thirds […]

Since six blocks of State Street closed in spring 2020, e‑bike usage has risen steadily, and the resulting increase in accidents has alarmed residents and local politicians. The Westmont Center for Dialogue and Deliberation decided to tackle this thorny issue at a community roundtable event with more than 50 people on October 23 at the Community […]

AHOY! Last week the sea breeze carried more than salt air and sunshine – it carried with it a celebration! On Sunday, October 12th at the Yacht Club Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse designated the 110–foot–tall schooner, Mystic Whaler, as the Official Tall Ship of Santa Barbara. Who has a replica of a seamlessly crafted […]

Tension hung thick in the air at the Franklin Community Center on Tuesday evening, July 15, as residents packed the room – and spilled out into the parking lot – to demand answers about recent ICE activity in Santa Barbara. Some even brought blankets and picnic dinners, watching the proceedings from an outdoor screen when […]

Navy blue blazers, gold buttons and Nantucket red pants reigned supreme when the Santa Barbara Yacht Club marked its 153rd opening day as the second oldest sailing Mecca on the West Coast. Club chef Owen Hanavan laid out a heaping display of food – plank halibut, Eggs Florentine and Benedict, sizzling sausages and more – […]

On a sunny Spring Friday afternoon, the Santa Barbara community gathered to celebrate a powerful moment in maritime history – the unveiling of the Deepwater Diving Monument located at the entrance of the harbor. The 10-foot bronze statue of a diver is a tribute to the pioneering commercial divers whose innovations helped shape the modern […]

Mother Nature forced the cancellation of a flyover by the Italian Air Force’s answer to the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels – the 63-year-old Frecce Tricolori aerobatics team. The occasion was a Festival Italiano held at the Cabrillo Pavilion marking the first visit of the Los Angeles-based Italian Consul General Raffaella Valentini to our Eden by […]

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 […]

Lotusland, the 37-acre botanical paradise that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, received a Happy Birthday gift from Mayor Randy Rowse, when he presented board members of the historic estate with a colorfully inscribed vellum proclamation on behalf of our Eden by the Beach. The tony twosome, Laura Bridley and Jeanne Anderson, joined the […]

The Assistance League (AL) of Santa Barbara celebrated its 75th Anniversary with an afternoon reception at its Veronica Springs Road offices on Thursday, October 26. The local chapter, the 10th of 120 chapters nationally, was founded post-WWII in 1948 by 15 society women who saw a need to help the community in ways beyond compare. […]

On April 13, 2023, the Santa Barbara Woman’s Club-Rockwood was abuzz with excitement as 200 community members came together to celebrate the 9th annual Lunch with Love event, hosted by Storyteller Children’s Center. Among the distinguished guests were Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps, Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse, Santa Barbara City Police Chief Kelly […]

Project Progress Highway 101 Widening Project  The long-awaited widening project from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara was discussed at length in 2022, with countless meetings to discuss design, construction, timing, and other details related to the addition of a third lane through Montecito.  The Montecito segment of the project (called 4D) includes widening 1.4 miles of […]

Earlier this month, nearly 450 area residents strapped on their sneakers for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. A Promise Flower ceremony was held before the Walk with Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse helping count down the beginning of the event. Together this bipedal push raised more than $135,000 to fund research and free local services […]

On Friday, November 4, community leaders and elected officials celebrated the kick-off for the Olive Mill Roundabout project. Construction will begin late November and go through summer 2023.  The roundabout will improve traffic flow at the intersection at Olive Mill Road, Coast Village Road, North Jameson Lane, the northbound Highway 101 off-ramp at Olive Mill […]

Coast Village Road (CVR), though ceded to the City of Santa Barbara in 1960, remains an iconic pillar of the Montecito lifestyle. The CVR streetscape offers sophisticated dining, boutique shopping, historic hotels, real estate brokers, drugstores, medical offices, professional services, hair salons, banks, business offices – and yes, even a modern, high-priced combination gas station, car […]

Last Friday morning, a group of 30 business owners, property owners, employees, and restaurant patrons gathered at the conference room of Montecito Inn to discuss the fate of parklets on Coast Village Road. A recent letter sent to the Santa Barbara City Council signed by over 25 Coast Village Road business and property owners sparked […]

A few persistent rumors have spread through the Montecito community, thus proving the old adage that a lie can get halfway round the world before the truth can even get its boots on. Here are a couple that we’ve thoroughly debunked: – Rick Caruso is buying the Upper Village and plans to turn it into […]

Nearly 200 Santa Barbara and Montecito residents gathered downtown Tuesday to celebrate the swearing-in of new Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse. The outdoor ceremony, which would normally take place within City Hall, also touched on the work of outgoing Mayor Cathy Murillo, and served to also swear in council members Kristen Sneddon – who represents, […]

As a community, we sit days away from the certification of our recent mayoral and city council election and I wanted to take a few minutes to address my city: It was an honor and a privilege to serve as a catalyst for change and to truly hold to my campaign motto: “A New Day. […]

We may look at circumstances in our society and wonder how our leaders could be so inept as to let those happen. Immigration chaos, the 2008 financial crisis and widening entitlements to name a few. Perusing the Democrat Party tactics initiated in the 1960s by Columbia University professors Richard Cloward and Frances Piven can clear […]