Former Montecito resident Michael Douglas has moved into truly majestic accommodations in London. The Oscar winner, 78, and his Welsh actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53, have rented an apartment in historic St. James’s Palace, just a tiara’s toss from Clarence House, the home of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla. The monarch’s sister, Princess […]

It took a little while to reach Sharon Allen of the World Telehealth Initiative (WTI) to arrange an interview last week. That’s because the cofounder and executive director of the barely 5-year-old nonprofit was over in Ukraine, in the midst of a week-long visit to the war-torn country as part of a special expansion of […]

Ted Nash, a regular figure of Jazz at Lincoln Center led by Wynton Marsalis, made his debut with the Santa Barbara Symphony, under conductor Nir Kabaretti, premiering a new orchestral expansion of his work Transformation at the Granada. Nash also performed with a trio led by Los Angeles-based pianist Josh Nelson. A short film also […]

Baubles, bangles, and beads reigned supreme at the colorful, energized second annual Mardi Gras bash presented by La Boheme dance group founder Teresa Kuskey and social gadabout Rick Oshay at the Carriage and Western Art Museum. The fun fête was so popular that more than two dozen would-be guests had to be turned away because […]

The former Birnam Wood home of uber philanthropist Leslie Ridley-Tree, who died in October at the age of 98, has hit the market for $7.95 million. The 4,900-square-foot, single-story home on 1.06 acres, which I last visited for Leslie’s Christmas party, is just a tiara’s toss from the tony enclave’s clubhouse. Her extensive 700-piece wardrobe, […]

Martine Marie Daniel, 59, of Coarsegold, California, passed away on Jan. 5, 2023, surrounded by loving family. Martine was born July 16, 1963, in Frankfurt, Germany. The daughter of Leota A. Robb and Darwin F. Daniel moved to Germany from the United States in the late 1940s, for the purpose of helping to rebuild Germany […]

Roger Arlen Phillips, 88, beloved and devoted husband, father, and friend, passed away quietly surrounded by love in his home in Montecito on Jan. 19, 2023. Roger was born in 1934 to Paul Edward and Lela Belle Phillips of Bakersfield, Calif. When he was a young boy, his family vacationed in Santa Barbara, where he […]

Ken Saxon had a clear vision when he founded Leading From Within (LFW), the Santa Barbara nonprofit that supports leaders and staff of other local nonprofits.  “I came to Santa Barbara from the business world, where our most important investments were the ones we made in our people,” Saxon said. “But when I started serving […]

Social gridlock reigned when retired technology executive Howard Cannon opened the doors of his George Washington Smith home, just a tiara’s toss from the estate of singer Katy Perry and her British actor fiancé Orlando Bloom, for more than 90 guests for his sixth annual Super Bowl party. With commercial time during the Fox broadcast […]

Hearts Aligned, the two-year-old Santa Barbara charity which supports critically ill children, threw its first Hearts to Hearts Valentine’s lunch with 156 guests at the Cabrillo Pavilion, raising around $100,000 for low-income youngsters. The ubiquitous Janet Garufis, chairman and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust, emceed the fun oceanside fête, as well as acting as […]