I recently enjoyed a Sunday evening Broadway Cruise onboard Hiroko Benko’s Condor Express whale-watching vessel here in Santa Barbara. The event featured two young singers – soprano Anikka Abbott and baritone Nicholas Ehlen – who sang classic numbers (accompanied by pianist Renée Hamaty) from a variety of Broadway musicals. The songs featured were such hits […]
“So I promise that I’m not going to build a trail that has landslides.” – Montecito Trails Foundation representative to CRAHTAC, 11/14/22 How soon promises are broken… We can’t predict when weather will cause damage to trails, but thanks to highly trained agency staff such as geologists, we are given insight to the types of […]
Recently Trending
More from Montecito
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 […]
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 […]
This summer, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury investigating four deaths in our jails concluded that the death of JT was not “accidental” as determined by the sheriff-coroner, but needed to be investigated by the California Attorney General as a homicide. The jury concluded: “JT died in a jail cell while suffering from a mental […]
Last week I wrote about the long demise of the Santa Barbara News-Press and the poignance that the final chapter of its tortured story turned out to be Chapter 7. And I touched on the irreplaceable role local news plays in a robust, functioning democracy. A recent piece in the notably not-local New York Times […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Read more...
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 […]
The Montecito Association is considering recommending to the County a ban on “big box,” “formula” retailers in Montecito. I oppose such a ban. My wife and I have lived in Montecito since 1978. We are members of the Montecito Association. We have been active in the community over the years. Recently I was a promoter […]
As most know, our County’s complete lack of ethical standards is something I have raged against. While other counties have a Code of Ethics (something that our Grand Jury recommended in 2020), our County blissfully dances in the darkness without pesky little rules relating to the timing of campaign contributions, acceptance of gifts, hiring of […]
Summerland is a unique blend of small-town charm, a vibrant mix of locally-owned stores and restaurants, and an outdoor paradise. Ocean views abound from every street. We are a close-knit and welcoming community. Our town exudes a friendly and neighborly spirit. We support each other in crisis. We are NOT a food desert. We […]
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, […]
