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 […]
This is a story about the death of a troubled 34-year-old woman, “KC.” A death that led to a Grand Jury investigation and a scathing Grand Jury report. A difficult story that you will not read nearly enough about. Allow me to explain: Last week’s Montecito Journal did a great job digging into the recent […]
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When the Brooklyn Eagle, a circulation leader among afternoon papers, closed its doors in 1955 after 114 years of publication, few tears were shed outside of Brooklyn. The Eagle was not much of a newspaper, observed press critic A.J. Liebling of The New Yorker. Nonetheless, he continued, the death of the Eagle was an occasion […]
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 […]
I grew up with newsprint. As a 10-year-old newspaper delivery boy for the Lowell Sun, I spent many a Sunday morning on my new Schwinn Birthday Bike delivering the very large (and prosperous) Sunday edition of the Lowell Sun. Over the course of two years or so, my route went from 41 to 123 customers, […]
Dear Montecito, Welcome to the 99th edition of Dear Montecito! Even though this column was started three years ago, I have been looking forward to our 100th edition practically since Day 1. It is not unpopular to say 100 is a very nice number. It is round and also somehow circular in that it encourages […]
We live in this time of great schadenfreude – consider the case of the OceanGate submersible. I’ve never seen so many posts online from random people gloating over the misfortune of a billionaire. However, I for one take no joy or comfort in the death of the Santa Barbara News-Press, our town’s only daily newspaper, […]
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 […]
More than just a “Magic Man,” Milt Larsen was a kind and generous person. It’s inevitable that he and Arlene should marry, because they’re both the same – so friendly and giving. Milt and I first met when I joined the Magic Castle. Over our 50+ year friendship, he was always generous with his time, […]
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When I moved to Casa Dorinda on January 1, 2009, after being on the waitlist for five years, it was the height of the 2008 financial disaster which cost me a $300,000 loss on the sale of my house. I had friends from the Music Academy of the West here, and the first four years […]
I don’t have many heroes. Maybe because I’m too easily disappointed. Or that just beneath my optimistic surface lives a somewhat jaded self. Or perhaps it’s simply that it’s hard to find heroes these days who stand up to the test of time, not to mention under the harsh glare of modern-day journalism. But when […]
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 […]
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. […]
In November 2020 2nd District County Supervisor Laura Capps, then School Board Member Capps, took a run for the 1st District County Supervisor seat challenging Supervisor Das Williams. Despite this paper’s strong endorsement of Capps for her refreshing perspective on campaign reform, the need for more transparency in the government (on issues like cannabis and […]






