Thanks for Speaking Up
By Montecito Journal   |   August 31, 2021

I’m grateful for Gwyn Lurie’s “Candid Condescension” in calling Ed St. George out for his condescending, patronizing attack on City Councilwoman Meagan Harmon. St. George felt entitled to tell Councilmember Harmon that she should be focusing on her children and husband rather than serving in public office and working. Really? It’s 2021 and we still […]

Well-Meaning Handouts Not Aiding Homelessness Efforts
By Montecito Journal   |   August 5, 2021

The following is an open letter to the Coast Village Association and the property owners of the Country Mart and Starbucks strip:  We need you to step up now and help your businesses and customers stop enabling homelessness. Help us solve it instead.   We are writing to you as Montecito residents and founding members of […]

 

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A New Danger on the Roads
By Montecito Journal   |   July 29, 2021

Am I the only one noticing the dangerous speeds that e-bikes and riders who push them to their limits pose to drivers and themselves in and around Montecito? They seem to zip around as fast as motorcycles, yet no special license is required. It’s great that more people are getting outdoors and traveling farther afield […]

Get Your Priorities Straight
By Montecito Journal   |   July 22, 2021

To the Mayor, City Council Members: 4th of July my family and I took a walk down upper State Street in Santa Barbara. As we walked, we had concerns about the planning by the city to provide a safe sidewalk. We also wondered if there would ever be another parade down State Street. The heritage of […]

Shameful Acts Need Consequences at Thacher
By Montecito Journal   |   July 15, 2021

The recent news of the shameful episodes of past sexual abuse at Thacher School is deeply troubling. The perpetrators should be pursued, prosecuted where possible and never again be allowed contact, in any capacity, with young people. In the strongest terms, I condemn them as well as those who covered up these egregious incidents, and […]

Carlos, An American Bear
By Montecito Journal   |   July 8, 2021

Carlos, The Bear, reclined in his reading chair listening to Tom Petty. He was flipping through last year’s 4th of July Car Roadshow photos he took with his old iPhone. This year everything will be better, he thought. No lockdown, masks not mandatory and people out everywhere trying to get back into the swing of […]

Don’t Bother Talking Parklets, State has a Plan Anyways
By Montecito Journal   |   July 1, 2021

Mayor and Councilmembers, You have an agenda item coming up June 22, agenda item No. 16, that could remove parklets in July, or impose onerous modifications on them. Please avoid doing this. It is the most business unfriendly thing you could do right now. Thanks to the quick actions of Anthony Wagner, and the blessing […]

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  • Cannabis Chaos Takes an Unexpected Turn
    By Montecito Journal   |   June 24, 2021

    I am troubled by the apparent conflicts-of-interest by attorney Marc Chytilo involving his lobbying for a major cannabis grower and Foothills Forever.  The latter is a large community philanthropic effort involving the pro bono efforts of many attorneys, but one that Mr. Chytilo seeks primary credit. Last Wednesday, many in the First District were left […]

    Threat of Vandalism Near Hot Springs Trailhead
    By Montecito Journal   |   May 27, 2021

    On May 17, 2021, a car was parked on Mountain Drive near the corner of East Mountain Drive and Hot Springs Road. It was barely sticking into the road, less than other hikers’ cars further west, near Ashley Road. A note was placed on it which said, “Park here again and you will be towed […]

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    Care for Bear!
    By Montecito Journal   |   May 20, 2021

    After receiving his second shot of Pfizer COVID vaccine, Carlos the Bear was relaxing in his den reading the Montecito Association’s most current email blast. He was eating some tasty takeaway from Pane e Vino and saw that a Town Hall Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 19 at 5:30 pm, regarding his troublesome […]

    Letters to the Editor
    By Montecito Journal   |   May 13, 2021

    Clarification A Community Voices column in the April 29-May 6 edition entitled, Despite Recent Narrative Cold Spring School Deserves Community’s Support, was written by a group of community members and not a single author. Cold Spring School: Time to Pony Up Legal Docs I truly cannot understand all the controversy surrounding the issue at Cold […]

    Fighting Fair Housing Initiatives is Counterproductive
    By Montecito Journal   |   May 6, 2021

    In reference to the recent Montecito Association meeting held on April 13, I was deeply disappointed to see that our esteemed, highly respected former senator, Hannah-Beth Jackson, has agreed to represent the anti-growth side of the discussion regarding California State Bills 9 and 10, or SB-9 and SB-10. The legislation proffered by Governor Newsom will […]

    Time to Break Up the Telecom Ring
    By Montecito Journal   |   April 29, 2021

    On April 8, the telecom industry, in the person of Crown Castle Rep. Jerry Ambrose, attempted to pull the wool over the Montecito Architectural Board of Review. He told them he needed to put a new cell antenna on a pole at 75 Eucalyptus Lane. The reason? “Capacity gap.”  Yet, if you take a walk […]

    Hundreds of SB Residents Tell Governor: No! on Das Williams for Coastal Commission
    By Montecito Journal   |   April 16, 2021

    We are deeply dismayed to learn that Das Williams is seeking an appointment to the California Coastal Commission for the Central Coast. A controversial supervisor synonymous with Santa Barbara’s much-contested cannabis ordinance, Williams was barely able to retain his position in 2020 (even with the political and financial muscle of the cannabis industry). Indeed, there […]

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