I read with great interest Gwyn Lurie’s recent editorial Q&A with Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor. As a retired Certified Emergency Manager, with 23 years of experience in County Emergency Management, I find these topics very interesting from both a personal and professional perspective. I’ll preface my comments by saying that I have an enormous […]

Continued education and understanding of cultural groups are needed across our community. Last month, anti-Semitic flyers were dispersed across the Mesa on the first day of Hanukkah. This was a coordinated effort that occurred in the Second District that Laura Capps represents and is compounded by the horrific displays of anti-Semitism across the country. Like […]

Carlos, The Bear, was snug and cozy, reclining in his lazy bear chair perusing the internet, when a memory bubbled up under his holiday cap. He remembered as a very young cub, his mother would take him to Romero creek near their den, in Rancho San Carlos, in hopes of catching some steelhead trout, that […]

On April 26th, 1965, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed Resolution #24671, accepting a trail easement from Logan and Elizabeth McMenemy. This easement solidified a new trail route for a historic trail that crossed the McMenemy lands, and a few years later a second easement was deeded by the San Ysidro Ranch, […]

Remember when certain environmental groups made it impossible to talk about nuclear power in a positive way, and Santa Barbara locals demonstrated at Diablo Canyon’s nuclear power plant just up the coast from here? Now Democratic Governor Newsom supports it and the Biden’s Energy Department granted $1.1 billion to upgrade it. California’s last operating nuclear […]

As members of the Santa Barbara and Tri-Counties Chapter of the United Nations Association-USA, we are frequently asked if the U.N. is still relevant and capable of carrying out its mission, and what does our organization do? Since United Nations Day is being celebrated on October 24th throughout the U.S. and the world, it is […]

We knew Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree as the “Philanthropist of Santa Barbara.” As we lay her to rest, her presence in our city will continue as we pass by the many buildings and plaques that carry her name: The Ridley-Tree Cancer Center at Sansum Clinic; the Ridley-Tree Education Center at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art; […]

Most people want to compartmentalize everything. For example, I am a Democratic, Republican, Independent, or even a Green Party person. More examples would be I am a liberal or a conservative. I saw an interview with the actor Woody Harrelson. A good ole Texas boy. He described himself as a Redneck hippie. After careful consideration […]

In Mark Hunt’s article “Ins and Outs: Montecito and Her Many Special Neighborhoods” (Real Estate Issue, August 4, 2022), he correctly states not all homes in 93108 are within Montecito, or either of its two school or special districts.  Many Eucalyptus Hill homes are in the City of Santa Barbara. Eucalyptus Hill Improvement Association (EHIA) […]

I’m writing to you as a COO of Kiss The Ground, and a supporter of Regenerate America, an unprecedented coalition of farmers, ranchers, nonprofits, experts, companies, and citizens spanning the nation and the political spectrum who are committed to rebuilding America’s soil by making regenerative agriculture the centerpiece of the next Farm Bill.  Healthy soil […]