When the seemingly endless series of atmospheric river rainstorms drenched the area last month, people from Santa Barbara, Lompoc, or Santa Maria whose houses were flooded could find shelter and services at local facilities that are set up for just such emergencies. Not so much for residents of the Santa Ynez Valley. “We don’t have […]
Social gridlock reigned when the ubiquitous Andrew Firestone and his partner Jess Parker threw an opening bash at their new 122-room State Street hostelry, Courtyard by Marriott, formerly a La Quinta Inn. After imbibing wine, beer, and specialty cocktails on the roof, guests headed downstairs to Saint Remy, the Cearnal Collective-designed hotel’s new poolside eatery […]
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Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has just opened its latest illuminating exhibit, The Lure of Lighthouses & Dancing Waves, an impressive collection of more than 35 large-scale images and panoramic photographs of waves and lighthouses around the world taken by renowned Emmy Award-winning surfing photographer and videographer Dan Merkel. “I first met Dan when he joined […]
Amy Tatum has been chosen out of 150 applicants to be the new principal flutist for the Santa Barbara Symphony. Tatum, who was one of 70 musicians traveling to our Eden by the Beach for the final auditions, made her debut at the Granada with the “Plains, Trains & Violins” concert last month (Jan). As […]
Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner, 68, is renting out his 160-acre Aspen, Colorado, home for a hefty $36,000 a night. The Oscar and recent Golden Globe winner’s property has 12 bedrooms and eight bathrooms, with it spread over nearly 6,000 square feet and accommodating up to 27 people. Known as the Dunbar Ranch, it is described […]
It’s a marriage made on Earth! Michael Smith, entrepreneurial son of Montecito philanthropist Anne Towbes, has partnered with Oscar superstar Leonardo DiCaprio in Regeneration.VC, an early-stage venture capital fund supercharging consumer-powered climate innovation driven by circular and regenerative principles, which he co-founded. The fund’s vision, according to its literature, is “to empower all consumers in […]
UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures series has been working overtime with three major shows in the last week, two at the Granada and a third at the more intimate Lobero. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato’s EDEN, a call to action to build a paradise for today fertilizing, nourishing, and protecting the pure bliss that is Earth, with […]
While the world enters its new “normal,” the need to break bread with one another, both metaphorically and literally, is more welcome than ever. The sharing of conversation over food is a bonding act between people as old as civilization itself and with State Street now a bustling pedestrian thoroughfare, it is the ideal time […]
On a personal note, I remember Italian screen legend Gina Lollobrigida, who has died in Rome at the age of 95. I had a delightful dinner with the actress at a boffo bash in Punta del Este, Uruguay, when I flew there from New York to attend a champagne-soaked party for 550 guests hosted by […]
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Santa Barbara Symphony was clearly on the right track with its first 70th anniversary concert of the New Year! Plains, Trains, & Violins at the Granada under maestro Nir Kabaretti was a celebration of the influence of music of the Americas with local ties to our Eden by the Beach. The entertaining performance included Uruguayan-born […]
Santa Barbara-based filmmaker Brent Winebrenner and local duo Suzanne Requejo and Montecito Journal scribe Leslie Westbrook are excited to have their 15-minute documentary, Voces de Old Town Carpinteria, have its premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival next month. It features five older Carpinteria residents, including 103-year-old Josephine Villegas and narrator historian Dr. Jim […]
David Crosby’s death at age 81 on January 18, just five weeks before he was slated to perform as part of the Lobero’s 150th anniversary celebration, was surprisingly shocking even though he’d been in less than perfect health for years. After the initial sadness, what came quickly to mind and heart was both the first […]
David “Gilbert” Bertrand died suddenly on October 18 at the age of 93, and was actively in charge of his business until his very last day. He was born at St. Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara to a family with long-standing roots in the community. His great grandmother settled in Santa Barbara in the 19th […]
It was all too beastly for words when Gretchen Lieff, vice president of the board for the popular Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, hosted a boffo bash at her La Lieff tasting room in the Funk Zone for 200 volunteers. “It’s the least we could do to show our gratitude for the many hours they […]
