A New Year of Wonder
By Deann Zampelli   |   January 5, 2026

Do you have a moment in your day that highlights how fast time is passing? For me, it is at night when I turn down the covers of our bed. It seems I just did this and yet, intellectually I am aware that it was closer to 24-hours ago.  Recent studies have shown that one […]

Chabad of Montecito 3rd Annual Menorah Lighting
By Joanne A Calitri   |   December 30, 2025

Chabad Montecito’s 3rd Annual Menorah lighting for all took place on Tuesday, December 16, from 5 to 6 pm at the Corner Green in front of Pierre Lafond on East Valley Road. When I arrived at 4:45 pm, the atmosphere proved uplifting, supportive and celebratory, with many community members who gathered with their friends and […]

 

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Chayote Squash
By Melissa Petitto   |   December 30, 2025

Chayote Squash, also known as mirliton, choko, christophine, and guisquil, is a member of the Cucurbitaceae gourd family. Daniel Moua Farm has some fine-looking ones right now and these beauties are smooth, light green, and mild in flavor. Most people don’t know what to do with these gourds. They can be eaten raw in salads, […]

National Polo Champ Trades His Helmet for a Hard Hat
By Scott Craig   |   December 30, 2025

Patrick Uretz (‘14), who won two national championships with Westmont’s club polo team in 2013-14, is leaving professional polo for a career in construction. But until he rides into the sunset, he remains a formidable opponent. Patrick contributed seven goals in USA’s triumph in the II Federation of International Polo (FIP) Arena World Championship in […]

Seibert Leads College into a Greener Future
By Scott Craig   |   December 30, 2025

Christine Seibert, Westmont’s new assistant director of environmental studies, brings a rare blend of scientific training, deep Christian conviction, and a contagious enthusiasm for helping communities care for God’s creation.  Her journey into sustainability began unexpectedly in high school, when she encountered a small booklet, Loving the Least of These, published by the National Association […]

Art Nouveau Style Lamp
By Elizabeth Stewart   |   December 23, 2025

JP sends me a fabulous art nouveau style figural lamp for the table, a nude woman supported by a peacock. The outstretched arm of the woman holds the light fixture: a globe shape, encrusted with jewel-like crystals, that glows when lit. JP is wondering if this is “something.” In the history of lighting design, well, […]

Solstice Song Circle and Other Spirituality Matters
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 23, 2025

Local community song leaders Heather Stevenson, Alison Zuber, and Amisha Sera Luna are coming together for a special winter solstice song celebration December 19, collaborating to teach and lead participatory call-and-response songs meant to invoke a sense of community and joy. Winter solstice is a time of honoring the darkness and welcoming the slow return […]

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  • Rabbi Chaim Loschak and Mushkie Have Arrived
    By Jeff Wing   |   December 23, 2025

    I’m having a conversation with Rabbi Chaim Loschak – founder with his wife Mushkie of Montecito Chabad – and it’s impossible not to notice that he is bouncing his right leg at a frequency suggestive either of two strong cups of coffee, or the anticipatory effect on his physiology of a frenetic day ahead. I’m […]

    Body Reset Montecito: Stimulating Your Muscles into Shape
    By Deann Zampelli   |   December 16, 2025

    As they placed the electrodes onto my hosed down vest (to help the electrical current conduct more efficiently), images of every spy movie I had ever seen flashed before my eyes. My host and local resident, Jillian Muller, gleefully shouted at me to fire up my glutes and to crank it up. And fired up […]

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    Cubism, Fish, and Ceramics
    By Elizabeth Stewart   |   December 9, 2025

    FT snatched up this ceramic fish plate at Destined for Grace in Goleta because she thought it was a Pablo Picasso creation. She was almost right. Picasso did a series of fish related ceramics, riffing off an ancient Greek tradition from Southern Italy and Attica: the ancient Greeks had terracotta red and black serving plates […]

    Let’s All Light Up a Life
    By Steven Libowitz   |   December 9, 2025

    Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) is back brightening up the holidays with its annual Light Up a Life series of events spanning Montecito, Carpinteria, Goleta, and Santa Barbara within the span of a week or so. These events bring people together to remember and honor loved ones who might be particularly missed during December’s festivities. […]

    Music and Meditation Makes its Debut at the Music Academy of the West
    By Steven Libowitz   |   December 9, 2025

    Starting Friday, December 5, at 2 pm, this new series – which we first shared about more than a month ago – finds pianist Antonio Artese and meditation guide Jessica Kolbe (also a prolific Qi Gong teacher) teaming up to create an intimate event where guided meditation meets live classical music. Each one-hour program is […]

    Thai Chiles
    By Melissa Petitto   |   December 9, 2025

    Chiles are known for their heat, but do you know how nutritiously beneficial they are? Thai chiles are looking beautiful at Fred Ormand’s Farm. The chile is a part of the nightshade family, related to bell peppers and tomatoes. All chiles contain capsaicin, the compound responsible for their heat, and this compound is also what’s […]

    Jane Goodall and Her Message of Hope Jane Goodall, 1934 – 2025
    By Ann Brode   |   December 9, 2025

    Many people know of Jane Goodall as the woman who lived with the chimps and changed our understanding of animals and ourselves. But her work didn’t stop there. From the very beginning, Jane saw her work as a way to serve a greater vision – one that involved caring for all creatures on the planet […]

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