July 19, 2021
News Roundup
Santa Barbara’s City Administrator Is Stepping Down
Other recent news: Los Angeles County now requires masks indoors; the University of California system will insist students and staff get vaccinated; new recycling plant; the push for more large-scale solar; an increase in stingray stings; more thefts of catalytic converters; monarch butterflies skipping this area. 1
July 15, 2021
July 11, 2021
July 7, 2021
Should These Old Hangars Be Preserved?
Other recent news: Inflatable elephant spotted around town; Montecito Club's fight for as-built approval; water supplies and the drought situation; rapid Covid testing for travel and events; Circus Vargas opens this week; improvements to a Hope Ranch pedestrian bridge; new boat hotels in the Ventura harbor; Ojai home store; Solvang has been called an “adult Disneyland." 5
July 4, 2021
June 30, 2021
Countrywide’s Former CEO Is at War With the Montecito Club
Other recent news: Biltmore employees and Four Seasons head back to mediation; Santa Barbara man accused of running a Ponzi scheme; Riviera homeowner who illegally cut down trees now faces felony charges; UCSB has failed to build promised housing; homeless to be moved to motel for fire season; new home for at-risk young adults; L.A. County wants people to wear masks indoors because of the Delta variant of Covid-19. 2
June 29, 2021
Santa Barbara May Put the Homeless Up in a Motel for Four Months
Other recent news: QAD is being bought for $2 billion; the county is releasing cannabis applications and scoresheets; inside architect Robin Donaldson's 12,000-square-foot live-work compound; leather goods company Parker Clay is growing; So De Mel swimsuit showroom is closing; progress toward decommissioning two oil wells off Goleta. 3
June 24, 2021
June 21, 2021
Why Are People So Slow to Ditch Their Masks?
Other recent news: People of color fare worse in Santa Barbara's criminal justice system; bike-rental program to expand to Funk Zone, the waterfront, and Coast Village Road; Santa Barbara Fair & Expo is this week; local designer who makes aprons and biodegradable garbage bags; development likely for lot behind Home Depot; got any Jonathan Winters anecdotes? 1
June 17, 2021
Burning Questions
- Why Are the Railroad Tracks Being Expanded Along Padaro Lane?
- Will You Explain the Plan to Adapt the Waterfront for Climate Change?
- Why Did the Rosewood Miramar Beach Install Gates?
- How Long Will This Big Pipe Be at East Beach?
- Is Cabrillo Boulevard Going to Be Widened Under Highway 101?
- Was There a Fisherman Inn in Downtown Santa Barbara?
- What Are Those Old Buildings at the Corner of Castillo and Montecito Streets?
Recent Comments
It is kind of complex to tease out who bears the risks and benefits in these projects that have public and private parties involved. I… — SBradley
Very interesting. If Yardi is paying anywhere near $120M + $35M + $5.7M for almost 250k empty square feet, this is going to take a… — NuemanJ
I think some folks who would consider this is a windfall for Yardi may be overlooking two things: 1)The cost to Yardi to buyout AB's… — StanThompson
Just realizing I did not address your first point. The buildings on the property have been up for sale, and their value is also depressed… — SBradley
I think that the city's representation of this land as having ‘zero value’ is confusing because it sums together the value of 2 distinct things… — SBradley
No idea whether this is a good deal for Yardi or not. Paseo Nuevo has been available for sale since 2020 with no buyers -… — NuemanJ
I wish this same logic worked for Thrifty ice cream! According to the BLS inflation calculator, something that cost 5 cents in 1970 should cost… — Doug B
I'm unclear how bike lanes are related to maga. For that matter please explain how freeways and rail lines are remotely maga in a state… — Bettye Jones
Worth knowing about the Paseo Nuevo deal: the city is skipping the required competitive bidding process for this public land transfer by using the state-approved… — SBradley
This write up is such a biased take that sides with a handful of people. I imagine the people groaning about this project have a… — Yesenia G.