“What’s going on in the real estate market?” It’s a question agents field on an almost-daily basis, and as of late, my answer to my clients and others is that we are in an adjustment period, with the market, in general, feeling a period of softening. The number of properties sold in the first half […]
Lea másWhen one thinks of Montecito, images of the ocean, palm trees, Spanish-style architecture, San Ysidro Ranch cottages, and more come to mind. It is one thing to be able to live here, in such a special, small yet internationally recognized community, but it is another thing altogether to have a career that allows access to […]
Lea másElection campaign season is about to begin, and the local election for Montecito Sanitary and Montecito Water Districts is on the November 6 ballot. I have served on the Montecito Sanitary District for 12 years, and this is the first time I have run in a competitive re-election campaign. Who would imagine that this year, […]
Lea másThe Tibetan Buddhist monks are coming back to Summerland to work on a Medicine Buddha sand mandala, offer prayers and healing sessions, and much more, beginning this Wednesday, September 5, at The Sacred Space. Tthe Ngari Institute of Buddhist Dialectics Tour is bringing the venerable Geshe Tsewang Dorje and Geshe Thupten Tulku Rinpoche to the […]
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Artist Tom Mielko and wife Eileen gave a summer soirée alfresco on their deck. As T.S. Eliot would have said, “Such a nice party. I can’t believe it. Such a nice party. I hate to leave it.” Tom used to be my neighbor at the Polo Fields. He had an art gallery on the pier […]
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On a personal note, I remember Betty Stephens, a philanthropist and humanitarian, who has moved to more heavenly pastures at the age of 86. Betty, who came to our Eden by the Beach in 1969, would often invite me to her extravagant birthday bashes at the La Cumbre Country Club or her magnificent Hope Ranch […]
Lea másDana Newquist stated in the latest MJ (#24/34) that the Montecito Sanitary District is “dumping partially treated sewage water just off shore at Butterfly Beach.” This is a false, slanderous statement. Secondary treatment is treated to the same level as tertiary treatment, but the salinity is modulated to match the ocean salinity. Tertiary is the […]
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Santa Barbara Polo Club’s hallowed Holden Field was turned into an outdoor planetarium when it threw an Under the Stars bash for 200 guests with organizers from the local 63-year-old astronomical unit, part of the Natural History Museum, which does 200 events annually showing off the stars above, just two days before a full moon. […]
Lea másRecycling of treated wastewater is environmentally responsible and can create a significant new water supply for both landscaping water (sometimes referred to as non-potable or “purple pipe” water) by surface spreading, or even better, indirect potable reuse (IPR) by injecting the purified water into local groundwater basins as recharge water for later withdrawal as a […]
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Jaws came alive at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) recently with the screening of shark movies by filmmakers Harry Rabin and Tom Piozet, along with Dr. Chris Lowe of the Cal State University Long Beach Shark Lab. It was a look behind the scenes of the Weather Channel’s show Into the Shark Zone and […]
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There is no doubt that condominium living is completely distinct from that of a single-family home experience. We all know condominium dwellers who fired their gardener and the guy who fixes the electric gate years ago and would not live any other way, and others who miss being able to paint their front door any […]
Lea másby Adam Black Adam Black is the area manager and senior loan officer for New American Funding Montecito branch. He can be reached at 805-452-8393 or by email adamblackgroup@nafinc.com Being a mortgage guy, I can’t help but formulate things into mathematical equations. When I was asked to provide an update on what the biggest trends […]
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Montecito’s new Magic Castle cabaret, on the site of the former Cafe del Sol, a tiara’s toss from the Andree Clark Bird Refuge, is open for business. The 11,761-sq-ft nitery, founded by Milt and Arlene Larsen, who also own the 55-year-old club of the same name in Hollywood, will initially only be open on Thursdays […]
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Montecito has always been an integral part of the Santa Barbara Studio Artists (SBSA) Open Studios tour. But not so much this year. The annual Labor Day weekend event when local artists who are members of the organization welcome guests into their working home studios or off-site locations has just one site for visitors to […]
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Flower power reigned supreme when Santa Barbara Zoo held its 33rd annual Zoofari gala with a Summer of Love theme, the 1967 phenomenon that put the San Francisco neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury into the global spotlight and singer Scott McKenzie immortalized the heady moment in his homage to the City by the Bay. Pucci, Gucci, and […]
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There is nothing quite like this 6,350-sq-ft former “pool pavilion,” designed by Francis Underhill, on the market here or anywhere else in the Santa Barbara area, at least nothing I’m aware of and… and I can say this because I am not in the real estate business and have no stake or interest in this […]
Lea másThis November, three seats on the five-member Board of the Montecito Water District (MWD) will terminate, allowing interested candidates to run for the open positions. The MWD, formed in 1921 is governed by a majority vote of the five elected directors who serve four-year terms. These directors determine policy and approve the expenditure of funds […]
Lea másGrowing up in England – as I did for two-thirds of my early life – I was very familiar with “kidney,” as in “steak and kidney pie,” which in that country is almost a staple, and was certainly among my own favorite entrées. But I took no anatomical interest in either the steak or the […]
Lea másThere’s nothing that will make you feel poorer than perusing the high-end homes for sale in the Friday edition of The Wall St. Journal. Or heck, pick up a paper in Atherton, San Francisco, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, or any upper-end community in Napa, Sonoma, Oakland, or even Oxnard. Everything for sale comparable to what […]
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It was the best canine party of the season, according to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (SBBG). Dogs on a leash are always welcome, but this day if you brought your dog, it could treat you by getting you in free. My daughter in the Escondido, San Diego area, wants to commend Santa Barbara for […]
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