The American Irish Historical Society founded in 1897 is alive and well here in Santa Barbara under the leadership of Frank McGinity. They recently had a lecture and book signing for one Irish lady from New York, at Frank’s newly restored McCormick estate in Riven Rock. It’s hard to imagine a boulder as big as […]

Guys and gals got out their cowboy hats and boots for the annual Barn Dance fundraising at the Carriage and Western Art Museum. This was all for the best cause – Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center (HTEC). Guests could mingle with a margarita, peruse the silent auction and enjoy a good ol’ fashioned Santa Maria BBQ. […]

The Farmers & Merchants Trust Company office on Santa Barbara Street is fast becoming an art gallery of note. Since opening two years ago manager Frank Tabar has made the company’s conference room available for art students from the city’s various schools to hang their works to be viewed by the public. Frank’s wife, Marika, […]

Social gridlock reigned when 620 guests packed the Hilton’s ballroom for the 25th annual South Coast Business and Technology Awards which raised around $300,000 for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, its most successful event to date. The fun fête, co-chaired by Arnold Brier, general counsel of Yardi Systems and uber realtor Renee Grubb, featured […]

Santa Barbara author Myra Mossman, a federal criminal appeals attorney, has debuted her first book, My Random Death: A Memoir, a riveting true crime story with courage triumphing over evil, after rewriting it three times over the past 21 years. Mossman, who has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, took writing courses at City College […]

Direct Relief Women held a Mother’s Day celebration in the new mammoth facility. Direct Relief Women has enabled over 60,000 safe births since its inception. Every $25 makes one safe delivery possible. Shockingly there are 303,000 women who die each year from preventable complications occurring during pregnancy and childbirth – 830 per day. We know […]

Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care (VNHC) focused this year at their annual Mother’s Day luncheon not on fashion but on “Music & Moms” at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. The honored mother was Sharol Siemens and the remembered moms were Faviola Belnitz Calderon, Josie Gower, Alice Mitchell, Marilyn Ramos Benitez, and Rebecca Riskin, all […]

Santa Barbara’s second annual hospitality summer games at the Hilton boasted 14 teams, double the number of participants at the first event at the Hotel Californian. The fun-filled event, which included a recycling race, a bed making contest, a server obstacle course, pastry cake wars, a toilet paper toss, and a talent and bike building […]

Hillside House, now rebranded Hillside given the expansion plans for its 280-acre property which has 59 residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, raised around $100,000 from its 16th annual Sunset Soirée, held for the first time at the Rockwood Woman’s Club, given the death of Tita Lanning, chatelaine of the historic El Mirador estate, where […]

The 23-year-old Gaviota Coast Conservancy went paddling at the El Encanto with its third annual premier benefactors’ reception for 60 supporters of the organization dedicated to preserving the 76 miles of pristine coastline, the longest stretch of undeveloped coastal land remaining in Southern California. The sunset soirée, co-chaired by Joyce Macias and Donna Senaur, also […]