Actor and aviator John Travolta was the driving force behind Prince Harry being named a ‘Living Legend of Aviation’ because of a ‘strong emotional connection’ to the Riven Rock resident through the actor’s friendship with the late Princess Diana when the Duke of Sussex collected the honor at the Beverly Hilton this past weekend. Travolta, […]

I also remember Richard “Dick” Meyn, who left us last month at the age of 94. A New Yorker, Dick studied at Parsons School of Design in Manhattan and moved to Santa Barbara in 1954 after studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. He and two colleagues established Byars, Alexander and Meyn – a successful interior […]

The Music Academy has elected Montecito residents Susan Lichtenstein and Kelly Teich, and Santa Barbara resident Tom Orlando to the board. Lichtenstein is a retired senior vice president and chief legal officer, while Teich is president of Warner Group Architects, and Orlando is an industrial property manager. The organization also recognized two long-term board members, […]

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have adopted one of former TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres’ ailing chicken, which was being bullied at her $25 million Montecito estate, just a five-minute drive from the Sussexes $14.5 million mansion in Riven Rock. Ellen, 65, updated her 139 million Instagram followers on the progress of Sinkie, so […]

On a personal note, I mark the passing of Alfredo Arroyo, longtime general manager of Café del Sol, the popular eatery owned by the late Jack and Emilie Sears by the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge, who has died at the age of 62. Alfredo went on to manage Joe’s Café on State Street and the […]

Last month’s groundbreaking ceremony marked Sanctuary Centers’ initiation of its forthcoming new building. To witness the launch of this transformative community benefit project was, of course, a thrilling moment. The project, which will provide 34 units of new housing along with co-located medical, dental and behavioral health clinics, represents a milestone moment in the nonprofit’s […]

After the holiday festivities and indulgences, it seems we head directly into healthy eating and activities in January. With that noted, the El Encanto – a Belmond Hotel in Santa Barbara – has their signature Botanica Afternoon Tea. What is intriguing about their afternoon tea service beyond the ritz, is that both the curated teas […]

You’d be hard-pressed to find a local nonprofit that brought its outsized quest to fruition more speedily than did the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, which in its six short years of existence has already accomplished two major goals. Heartbroken but determined to make a difference when their young daughter was diagnosed with the rare neurological disease […]

Irma Jurkowitz Irma Jurkowitz – a local philanthropist and dear wife of husband Morrie Jurkowitz – had been a resident of Montecito for more than 50 years, and in that time quietly made a lasting mark on the community she loved. The private Jurkowitz Family Foundation is a funding source for various charity projects, and […]

The much looked forward to Casa del Herrero “Home for the Holidays”evening was held at the organization’s rare jewel outdoor area – its Spanish Patio and Blue and White Garden off the formal living room – on Saturday, December 9. The 150 guests were treated to the blissful Spanish guitar of Chris Fossek, while they […]