Since I was about elbow height, I’ve been making grocery shopping difficult for my mother. If I’m honest, I’ve probably been making it difficult since before then. But it was around four or five years old that I developed the especially vexing habit of zoning out, stepping on her heel, and having us both ram […]
For more than half a century, the hulking figure of Phil Baker ’71 has traversed Westmont’s campus. As the longtime grounds manager with a familiar goatee and wide mustache, he has created breathtaking gardens and stunning athletic fields. He quietly retired last summer, preferring a tri-tip luncheon with a few dozen co-workers and family at […]
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Sorry not sorry, but I have many excellent reads this month. Let’s start with The Cicada Tree, a debut novel by Robert Gwaltney with its melt-in-your-mouth prose, is a Southern gothic novel in the tradition of Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner. I was enraptured with the story of eleven-year-old Analeise, a piano protégé living in […]
Pinot noir buffs from all over the world have their eyes – not to mention, their taste buds – set squarely on Santa Barbara. After a COVID-driven virtual-only experience last year, and a truncated live event at the pandemic’s onset in March of 2020, the World of Pinot Noir (WOPN) is making a big in-person […]
Santa Barbara Schools Superintendent Super Intends to Get the Job Done Some jobs are just plain hard. Hard because no matter what choices you make, some people are bound to be disappointed. I sometimes felt that way when I served on the Montecito Union School District Board, because everyone wants what’s best for their children, […]
One of Santa Barbara’s most prolific wine producers just expanded its impressive portfolio. Miller Family Wine Company, with brands from high-end Bien Nacido to mainstream Butternut, premiered the Hand on Heart label earlier this month. What makes these wines unique is the alcohol – there isn’t any. Hand on Heart inaugural wines, with a launch […]
There’s a Montecito mom who is challenging Montecitans of all ages to reclaim their health and wellness with her new wellness center in the Upper Village. You need to see Talina Hermann before you get sick — it’s a novel idea to most, but for Hermann, it’s the smarter and better way to take care […]
Opera soprano Jana McIntyre’s first public performance as a singer came at age five right here in Montecito. Except she wasn’t supposed to be singing. “We had to recite poems at our graduation at Crane,” said McIntyre, recalling her first year at Crane Country Day School, the K-8 school where academic challenge is balanced with […]
Wine Pioneer Jim Clendenen Passes Santa Barbara County lost one of its most prominent champions in 2021. Jim Clendenen passed away May 15 at age 68. His ebullient, electric personality was certainly a Clendenen calling card, much like his undulating blond hair and steady parade of loud shirts. “It’s funny, I always think that winemakers […]
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As we wind down 2021 and ring in the new year, it is time to discuss the single most important concept in crafting a cocktail and that is balance. Balance is that elusive point where all the ingredients harmonize, and the result is so much more than the mere sum of its parts. Have you […]
I plan on starting the new year exactly as I ended it: diving into a stack of great books. I ended with 150 books for 2021, reading everything I can to help you readers navigate interesting, entertaining, and diverse books, from memoir to thriller to everything in between. Put Shauna Robinson’s Must Love Books on […]
Montecito and Santa Barbara locals have opened Montecito’s first “meatless” market, PLNT PWRD MRKT (i.e. Plant Powered Market), in Coast Village Walk on Coast Village Road. Borne after owner Tim Morton-Smith and his wife, Kamren, found themselves buying plant-based items mostly online instead of in local stores, the goal of opening the market was to […]
It all started with a desire for a well-made cappuccino. I was headed to a work meeting and needed a quick jolt of caffeine. I crossed the street and followed my curiosity to the French-inspired bakery that opened last summer adjacent to the Presidio. That morning, the first of my many visits to Alessia Patisserie […]
This time of year, when days are short and nights are longer, it feels important to celebrate light and be light-hearted. The traditions of Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, and Kwanzaa all include lighting candles, singing songs, and feasting together. Although COVID sensibilities have pared down the numbers, we don’t have to cancel the party. Smaller […]
