This year the Montecito Journal co-hosted a handful of Zoom candidate forums, all involving local school board races for which Montecito residents will have a vote (the one exception is the SBUSD area #1 seat, for which a smaller portion of our readers will have the chance to weigh in). This is not to say […]

What is the current outlook for California water in 2023? Researchers tell us that our state is experiencing “the driest 22-year period in the last 1,200 years.” They warn: “Likely El Niño conditions are predicted to continue into 2023; prepare now for another dry year.” Locally, the Montecito Water District’s (MWD) position remains strong, principally […]

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) […]

California, which already ranks dead last in Chief Executive’s “Best and Worst States for Business,” just took another giant leap backward. On Labor Day, September 9, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law, a new,deceptively named “Fast Food Recovery Act.” This legislation has nothing to do with fast-food recovery. Instead, once again, the government […]

This will be the last Perspectives column you’ll be reading for the time being. Personnel changes at the World Business Academy, and the incredible demands on my time as the Founder and CEO of H2 Clipper, Inc., has made it clear that I need to let go of this weekly column for now. I do […]

Coast Village Road (CVR), though ceded to the City of Santa Barbara in 1960, remains an iconic pillar of the Montecito lifestyle. The CVR streetscape offers sophisticated dining, boutique shopping, historic hotels, real estate brokers, drugstores, medical offices, professional services, hair salons, banks, business offices – and yes, even a modern, high-priced combination gas station, car […]

Bravo (yet again) to Rinaldo Brutoco’s August 11 column. He always comes up with the best adjectives when clashing up against “Big Power” greed: “Preposterous shibboleth” … Makes me laugh every time I look at it! In throwing big shade last week at the PG&E & Edison monopolies, he calls back to his group’s white […]

Shays’ Rebellion, which doesn’t get much attention in History class, was the first test of the young nation of the United States of America. And yet, understanding the uprising and its immediate after effects is extremely important today. On August 29, 1786, just three years after the formally securing independence through the 1783 Paris Peace […]

Does it upset you when you hear traditional media refer to the current Supreme Court as dominated by “Conservatives”? If not, it should. The truth is, there is nothing conservative about the current six-person majority of the Supreme Court. They are radical, pure and simple. Referring to these Justices as “conservative” implies that their judicial […]