News Roundup

September 13, 2023

The Empathy Center Is Opening Soon

Other recent news: A House of Honey project in Hope Ranch; the Rite Aid in Carpinteria is closing; profiles of artists Patrick Melroy and Burt Horowitz; El Capitan Canyon campground expansion; crude oil pipeline decommissioned. 3

September 1, 2023

State Street Promenade to Get a Designated Bike Lane

Other recent news: Downtown library plaza delayed; Goleta Beach Park update; UC Santa Barbara will fail to meet housing obligations until at least 2029; 24-unit homeless housing coming to Patterson Avenue and Highway 101; the Santa Barbara Studio Artists Open Studio Tour is this weekend. 2

August 25, 2023

Santa’s Convenience Store Is Coming to Town

Other recent news: Proposed State Street hotel gets paused by the Planning Commission; Santa Barbara and Goleta to work together on airport noise; the electric bike craze in Santa Barbara; city council to discuss the promenade every month; upper Jesusita Trail reopening delayed by easement owners; Carpinteria skatepark opens Saturday. 3

August 18, 2023

Santa Barbara Once Again Needs a New City Administrator

Other recent news: Rain expected on Sunday and Monday; Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom in another real estate dispute; inside the home of Montecito art collectors; community "refillery" to open in Goleta; the Goodwill store in Carpinteria has reopened; Cottage Hospital emergency room nearly doubled in size; Westside residents are pushing to get weekend access to school grounds. 3

August 11, 2023

Another Step Forward for the Revamp of De La Guerra Plaza

Other recent news: the Planning Commission puts the screws to the 101 Garden Street hotel; more on Ocean Fathoms's misbehavior; the Santa Barbara News-Press's list of creditors; proposed improvements to Stow Grove Park in Goleta; the Santa Barbara Zoo's new red panda. 2

August 5, 2023

Montecito Under the Microscope

Other recent news: Spend the night at Gwyneth Paltrow's place; the long history of Goleta’s Orient Hand Laundry; a deeper look at a few hotel projects in the works around here; Opera Santa Barbara's new season; the end of Dirt-style dirt about who bought where; the Jeff Shelton revamp of the State Street undercrossing is finally proceeding. 6

July 30, 2023

The News-Press Bankruptcy Won’t Include Its Landmark Building

Other recent news: UCSB is developing alternatives to Munger Hall; recap of Santa Barbara County's cannabis mess; Dirt.com is being shut down; Hidden Oaks Golf Course update; hospitality developers buy Buttonwood Farm & Winery; the latest ruling in the legal battle over Hot Springs Trailhead parking. 1

July 23, 2023

Inside the “Floating Home” Docked in the Harbor

Other recent news: UCSB is said to have pulled the plug on its monstrous dorm; Sonos is moving its headquarters to Goleta; is the Santa Barbara News-Press's print edition dead for good?; favorable reaction to 37-unit W. Carrillo Street project; investigating the remnants of Japan's 1942 attack at Timbers; no reopening estimate for Highway 1 near Big Sur; pilot program for a downtown tourist trolley. 3

July 14, 2023

A Hostel Has Opened Near the Train Station

Other recent news: Recommendations for "36 Hours" in Santa Barbara; armed intruder on Sand Point Road; more on the Montecito Association’s push to block chain stores; Board of Supervisors staff members to disclose financial conflicts; Yardi Systems wants to convert office space into 374 apartments; more trouble for private investigator Craig Case; Santa Barbara Hives will close its State Street shop. 7

July 10, 2023

The Montecito Association Has Big Shoes to Fill

Other recent news: Lemondrop shop for tweens is going online-only; inside a colorful 1926 Montecito house; Ty Warner as comedy; 996 rental units proposed for S. San Marcos Road; profiles of artists Kellen Meyer and Sarah Klapp; "Museum of Nothing" exhibit at UCSB; pickleball drama at the Earl Warren Showgrounds; the recent buyers of a 1929 Hedgerow house; carrot industry putting the screws to the Cuyama Valley. 1