What is to be Gained
By Montecito Journal   |   February 13, 2024

Dear Editor [Gwyn Lurie], You wrote, “And I say, what do we have to lose by giving him [Roy Lee] a chance to prove it? Seems not much.” (Montecito Journal, Feb. 1-8, 2024) It’s not a chance of losing anything. It’s a chance to gain a lot by electing Roy Lee 1st District County Supervisor! […]

Creeping Totalitarianism
By Montecito Journal   |   October 24, 2023

An unsightly gate was recently installed at the trailhead to Hot Springs Canyon with the given reason that the trail should be closed on days of high fire danger for safety reasons. This is the same canyon that was closed several months ago after heavy rains and where the authorities imposed draconian penalties of possible […]

 

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Re: Roundabouts
By Montecito Journal   |   September 19, 2023

I’m not a civil engineer so I admit to being somewhat confused about the need for roundabouts versus single lane stops due to the improvements to the HWY101. More lanes are not exiting onto San Ysidro or Coast Village at once are they? My concern is one of proper (and pleasing) scale and awkwardness. These […]

A Little Local History on Roundabouts
By Montecito Journal   |   September 12, 2023

Traffic circles sound so British, don’t they. I feel like folk in Downton Abbey period garb should be milling around, with an occasional ‘ahooga’ horn barreling into the Olive Mill. Thanks for your softly-wrapped skepticism/wariness about the new “fixes.” I was an outspoken critic when the idea first surfaced and maintained a wary and concerned […]

Life at Casa Dorinda: Another Perspective
By Montecito Journal   |   August 29, 2023

I came to Casa Dorinda in October 2020, in the middle of Covid. Despite the uncertainties and hurdles presented by the pandemic, I was thrilled at the prospect of moving here. As a single woman with no living relatives in this country, I had been exploring senior living communities for several years. Unlike many Casa […]

Response to Buckley’s Opinion
By Montecito Journal   |   August 22, 2023

In his dirge over the demise of print daily newspapers, James Buckley seems to assign the initial cause of the recent shuttering of the Santa Barbara News-Press to The New York Times’ purchasing of that publication in 1985. He expounds on that curious contention by stating that The New York Times didn’t “know” Santa Barbara […]

Required Reading
By Montecito Journal   |   August 15, 2023

Gwyn Lurie’s Editorial, “Wreck-Quiem for the Santa Barbara News-Press” (MJ August 3-10) should be required reading for every high school Civics class in the land. It captures the infinite value of “The Third Estate” (sic), as journalists and newspapers were once called. It describes in fearsome detail what happens when there are no gatekeepers watching […]

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  • Big Box Thoughts
    By Montecito Journal   |   August 8, 2023

    I just read Jeff Harding’s piece on the addition of Restoration Hardware in the Vol. 29 Issue 30 edition of the MJ. While I generally agree with a lot of what Jeff had to say, I feel like the piece requires some clarification. The reason these formulaic retailers he mentions are on Coast Village is […]

    Food Trucks are Part of the Real World
    By Montecito Journal   |   May 23, 2023

    I read in last week’s edition [of MJ] that someone has told the food trucks not to come to Montecito because of complaints. I find this shocking – that someone would complain when the people eating lunch at these trucks are mainly working for them! I am a direct next-door neighbor to the Olive Mill […]

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    “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”
    By Montecito Journal   |   May 16, 2023

    I am glad that “Robert’s Big Questions” are published regularly in the weekly Montecito Journal. The writer is among my most interesting friends (among other things, he’s the widely grinning high-brow guy cavorting about on his unicycle in parades and events around town), and I find it worthwhile to consider how and what he thinks. […]

    Sound Wall Considerations
    By Montecito Journal   |   April 18, 2023

    I would like to add something to the comments on the recent Board of Supervisors’ decision regarding sound walls along the 101 corridor in Montecito, which meeting I attended. My concern is that in this conversation we are perhaps disregarding the “elephant in the room,” which would be the status of our creeks and their […]

    Comments on Several of Ms. Thorn’s Points
    By Montecito Journal   |   April 11, 2023

    Re: “Picking A President in 2024” (Diana Thorn, Thursday, March 30) Inflation is a world-wide problem. (In the U.S., it is currently 6.4 percent.) More can and should be done to find a solution, and President Biden will rightfully take the heat if it isn’t – but President Biden did not cause the problem. The […]

    Letters Need Word Limits
    By Montecito Journal   |   April 4, 2023

    I think it’s time to cede Bryan Rosen space as a columnist; there is no other way to describe his way-too-regular contributions on a single topic. Certainly, no one can doubt his passion for the Hot Springs Trail and its attendant issues, but his letters exceed the accepted word limit by hundreds; often they cannot […]

    My Letter was Changed, Leaving Readers in the Dark
    By Montecito Journal   |   March 28, 2023

    Montecito Journal, thank you for printing the letter I wrote on the surveillance cameras placed at the Montecito Hot Springs and nearby. Unfortunately, changes were made to what I submitted, greatly confusing the matter. First, the quote from Lieutenant Ugo “Butch” Arnoldi’s February 21 email was altered. It’s not proper to alter quotes from people […]

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