Royal Well Wishes
By Richard Mineards   |   April 2, 2024

The phone at Maison Mineards Montecito was red hot after Kate, the Princess of Wales, posted her candid video revealing she was being treated for cancer after visiting the London Clinic for major gastro-intestinal surgery. It finally put to rest the scurrilous rumors circulating fueling endless speculation about her long absence from royal duties which […]

SBCC Foundation’s New CEO 
By Richard Mineards   |   April 2, 2024

Bobbi Abram is Santa Barbara City College Foundation’s new chief executive officer, starting May 1. Abram has spent most of her career as a leader in nonprofit and higher education fundraising and administration, and has served as executive director of the Pasadena City College Foundation since 2012. “This is an exciting time to be joining […]

 

Recently Trending

More from Montecito

Birthday Boy Rob
By Richard Mineards   |   April 2, 2024

The stars were out in abundance in our Eden by the Beach when perpetually youthful actor Rob Lowe celebrated his 60th birthday with a host of Hollywood stars who traveled up the 101 to help the 9-1-1: Lone Star star celebrate until the early hours with a live band. “I love the milestone birthdays because […]

Channelkeepers Having a Ball
By Richard Mineards   |   March 26, 2024

A tidal wave of generosity enveloped the Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s sold-out 22nd annual Blue Water Ball at the Cabrillo Pavilion with more than 200 guests raising around $170,000 for the popular nonprofit. The boffo bash was emceed by the ubiquitous Andrew Firestone and 14 paintings by local artists, including Kelly Claus, Benjamin Anderson, Eric Foote, […]

A Golden Oscars Bash
By Richard Mineards   |   March 26, 2024

Society gadabout Rick Oshay and La Boheme dancers founder Teresa Kuskey teamed up with Scott and Karen Davis to host an Oscars bash at Rick’s Montecito estate while the 96th annual event was shown on giant TV screens around the gardens decorated with giant figures of the awards trophy. Among those noshing on the canapés […]

The Tunes of Tinseltown
By Richard Mineards   |   March 26, 2024

The Golden Days of Hollywood were remembered when the Santa Barbara Symphony under guest conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos, general director of the New York Grand Opera, performed an Oscar-themed concert at the Granada hosted by the vivacious Leslie Zemeckis. Leslie, a bestselling author and award-winning documentarian, as well as being a near Montecito neighbor and fellow […]

Birdie in the Humidor
By Richard Mineards   |   March 26, 2024

It was close, but there were more than enough cigars when golfers competed at the Sandpiper golf course, just a tiara or two’s toss from the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. Afterwards competitors adjourned to the tony hostelry’s Cohiba Lounge, which opened last August. There they not only partook of the pricey Cuban tobacco, they quaffed Johnny Walker […]

Advertisement
  • MBT’s Gives Grants
    By Richard Mineards   |   March 26, 2024

    Montecito Bank & Trust celebrated its 49th anniversary by gathering with 11 local nonprofit representatives at the bank’s annual anniversary grants reception. Michael Towbes, the bank’s late founder, first started the anniversary grant program in 1993 to give back to the community. He wanted bank employees to have a voice in the direction of the […]

    Lotusland Goes Global
    By Richard Mineards   |   March 19, 2024

    Lotusland – Montecito’s 37-acre botanical paradise which is limited by a conditional use permit to just 20,000 visitors annually – is going global thanks to a free arts and cultural app from Bloomberg, joining 380 cultural partners worldwide with an astonishing 29 million users. “It will certainly bring Lotusland to a considerably larger audience,” Executive […]

    Read more...

    The Granada Is Back
    By Richard Mineards   |   March 19, 2024

    Just six weeks after its disastrous sprinkler mishap the venerable Granada Theatre was back to its sparkling self when the 27-time Grammy winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performed as part of the CAMA Masterseries. Conductor Nathalie Stutzmann, music director since 2022 and only the second woman in history to lead a major American orchestra, joined Chinese […]

    A Purr-fect Show
    By Richard Mineards   |   March 19, 2024

    Neo-cabaret diva Meow Meow, who has performed to sold-out to audiences worldwide including the Sydney Opera House and Lincoln Center, was in outrageous form when she sang at the Lobero as part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series. The show Sequins and Satire, Divas and Disruptors: The Wild Women of the Weimar Republic […]

    Rosewood’s Fifth Anniversary
    By Richard Mineards   |   March 19, 2024

    The star-ridden oceanside hostelry Rosewood Miramar celebrated its fifth anniversary with a socially gridlocked champagne-fueled bash on the Great Lawn with billionaire owner Rick Caruso describing the event as “a flash of the eye.” I reminded the Los Angeles real estate developer of the time he was in a Sikorsky helicopter hovering over the Pacific […]

    House Off Market
    By Richard Mineards   |   March 14, 2024

    Former TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres just signed off on one of Montecito’s biggest property sales this year, selling the iconic 1919 villa Pompeian Court on San Ysidro Road for $32 million, shy of the original $46.5 million asking price. Less than one year prior the eight-acre estate traded hands for $22.5 million. During […]

    O Letting Go
    By Richard Mineards   |   March 12, 2024

    Former TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey is leaving the board of WeightWatchers and will donate her stake in the company “to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications,” according to the company, also known as WW International. Shares in WW International fell by 27% in extended trading following the […]

    Advertisement