Odds & Ends

February 8, 2023

State Street’s Drift Hotel Has Opened

Plus: Van Morrison and James Taylor to play the Santa Barbara Bowl; Urgent Veterinary Care opening on De La Vina; the complicated hotel project coming to W. Montecito Street; interior designer Amber Lewis hints about a Santa Barbara shop; wildfire detection camera installed on Ortega Ridge; wonderful little building squandered. 7

February 6, 2023

The Provenance of the Blue Vases Atop the Presidio Plaza Building

Plus: Goleta hotel to be rebranded; health warning lifted for Miramar Beach and Fernald Point Beach; vintage-and-makers collective opening on State Street; neighborhood art-studio tours in Ojai; new show at My Pet Ram gallery; novelist Rachel Cusk in person.

January 28, 2023

Plans for a New Jeff Shelton Building Downtown

Plus: Three more Santa Barbara Bowl shows announced; fencing proposed for Plaza de Vera Cruz park; East Beach sewage contamination; Acorn and Oak fitness and wellness studio opening on Hollister Avenue; Romero Canyon bridge is damaged again; group show by a dozen local women artists. 5

January 23, 2023

Coda in Montecito’s Upper Village Has Closed

Plus: Someone is looking to open an indoor playground; a new novel called "Stick and Ball" set in the local polo scene; the Evans/Lillie Avenue reopening got pushed back a bit; a reprise of musician Omar Velasco's Come What May Fest; more photos of the fascinating Pepper Hill mound house; work by J. Bradley Greer and Lynda Weinman at Sullivan Goss. 6

January 21, 2023

A-List Boutique to Open in Montecito’s Upper Village

Plus: Kismet will open a dedicated lingerie studio; Jack Johnson to play the Lobero Theatre; the slate for the 2023 Santa Barbara International Film Festival; the Montecito Tea Gardens gets another $10 million price cut; are you Santa Barbara's next poet laureate? 5

January 14, 2023

Los Padres National Forest Is Closed for Two Months

Plus: Santa Barbara Airport will have limited parking while improvements are made; update on oil seepage off Summerland's Lookout Park; bluff instability after storms; interior designer Birgit Klein moved her showroom; neat 1930 Mary Craig rental.

January 12, 2023

The Black Keys Are Playing the Santa Barbara Bowl

Plus: The pair of blue vases atop the Presidio Plaza Building; Alaska Airlines says San Diego service is unlikely; the local aversion to double left-turn lanes; "The Search for the American West" at Sullivan Goss; Overheard in Santa Barbara; an amusing bit of off-color humor. 6

January 7, 2023

Two Prominent Properties in Summerland Have Changed Hands

Plus: Four Highway 101 ramps are slated to reopen in coming weeks; new owner for downtown art gallery; Coast Village Road fitness studio has opened; vintage pop-up at the Magic Castle Cabaret; Santa Barbara Island is closed to due to storm damage. 5

December 28, 2022

The New Tenant of the Victor the Florist Space

Plus: Cat Mewseum coming to State Street; Palma Colectiva opening in Victoria Court; the Flaming Lips in concert; Bellosguardo's outbuildings by the beach; the history of the "El Prado" sign at the new Courtyard by Marriott.

December 22, 2022

Church Has Plans for a Big Roof Deck Downtown

Plus: Women's apparel store opening in the former Rite Aid on State Street; Olive Mill ramps not closing till at least January 8; new look for the apartment complex proposed for Carrillo and De La Vina; updates on the downtown electric-vehicle charging station and the redesign of the State Street undercrossing; Gaviota rest areas reopen; the story behind a Jeff Shelton house on the Riviera; the annual homeless count; drive-through car wash in the works for S. La Cumbre Road; "Golden Hour" at My Pet Ram. 5