As we await our new D1 Supervisor Roy Lee, the County Planning Commission (CPC) has taken what some might argue is an activist approach to certain significant issues facing our County, including the Miramar Project and our Cannabis Ordinance. Allow me to explain: The Montecito Planning Commission lost their oversight of the Miramar based on […]
I’d like to clarify a couple of points regarding my recusal from last Friday’s MPC hearing. I did give an ex parte declaration at the beginning of the meeting as is required. I gave some specific names and also at the end said that I had also spoken with a great many neighbors, especially some […]
Recently Trending
More from Montecito
I am asked all the time whom I will vote for, Harris or Trump. My unequivocable answer is that I am not going to vote for president. “What!?” – you may say. “You have a duty as an American citizen whose forebearers fought and died for your right to vote!” Well, I reply, I didn’t […]
It’s hard to break my heart these days. I’ve become so inured to hateful remarks. To bad manners. I know I’m not the only one who feels exhausted by the toxically divisive politics of this moment. The hubris we all bring to every conversation that treads whatsoever into politics. It all feels so depressingly… normal. […]
I’ve lived in Pacific Palisades for 22 years, and lived through Caruso’s redevelopment of our downtown area into a modern shopping mall. He was clever in his approach – buying up and closing down local businesses for years so that when the time came to present his plans, much of our community supported it, because […]
Friday, October 18 was a dark day for those who care about the principles of integrity and fairness in Montecito. This was the day the Montecito Planning Commission utterly failed in its mission to faithfully abide by its legal and ethical obligations in representing our community. Their unfinished hearing amounted to a self-inflicted wound that […]
Mr. Hazard, let’s begin with your 1st point (MJ Vol. 30_40, October 3-10, 2024) that the Rosewood expansion will provide “Workforce Housing for Employees.” Yes, affordable Housing is GREAT but only when it’s available to the community at large, not for self-serving interests taking advantage of a poorly written bill; SB-330. So 26 affordable housing […]
Befuddled. I rarely use this word, but found it the most appropriate to describe what I witnessed at the MPC meeting regarding the Miramar project. Talk about Amateur Hour(s). There are a lot a great people in Montecito, who earned their place, with pure intent, and who want nothing more than to preserve the beauty […]
All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church has been a part of the fabric of Montecito since the cornerstone was set for our Sanctuary in January of 1900. We strive to love our neighbors as ourselves and respect the dignity of every person. We have a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every […]
Read more...
Having lived and grown up in Santa Barbara over the last 70 plus years, my wife and I came to appreciate how important SBCC is to the health and welfare of our community. We attended local public schools and took advantage of SBCC upon graduating from high school. She was in one of the first […]
This is the second analysis of policies proposed by our presidential candidates. No. 1 was about trade. This one is about taxes. Both candidates like to spend but have different ideas about how to raise revenues. Kamala Harris wants more revenue from taxation. Donald Trump favors less taxes but believes lower taxes would lift the […]
Next Wednesday at 9 am on October 9, 2024, the Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort and its charismatic owner, Rick Caruso, will meet with the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission (CPC), seeking approval for needed improvements to make their resort more attractive to its 5-star clientele and to the Montecito community. What will the CPC be […]
I was dismayed to see the Journal’s front-page headline stating that the Miramar “short circuits local process and heads to county,” accompanied by a fabricated image of the project. The Miramar has done nothing except recognize, along with the County, that the law leaves the jurisdiction of this matter with the County rather than with […]
On the eve of Supervisor Elect Roy Lee’s term, it’s positively mind-blowing to see how fast our County apparatus and its various apparatchiks can push various and controversial First District projects forward. Allow me to explain: Rules and process matter because without them Special Interests can – with the help of favoring Supes and the […]
