February 10, 2026
Odds & Ends
February 2, 2026
An Update on the Ornate Mission Inn
Plus: Free People has opened near the bird refuge; hotel conversion on E. Haley Street; UCSB bought two more downtown buildings; Cottage Hospital is looking to expand again; the perils of Tangerine Falls; Trevor Noah returns to the Santa Barbara Bowl; thanks for the tip? 10
January 27, 2026
Thieves Are Said to Be Hiding Surveillance Equipment Outside Houses
Plus: Salon Providence has soft-opened at The Post; Scenery Florals leased a space in the Funk Zone; Lord Huron to play the Santa Barbara Bowl; intermittent closures on Highway 154; downtown salon closing; Palma Colectiva's new events studio; "mythical landscapes and fanciful botanicals" at Sullivan Goss. 13
January 20, 2026
Stylish Apartment Building Proposed for Los Patos Way
Plus: The Santa Claus Lane bike path; might Montecito ban gas-powered leaf blowers?; update on the row of eucalyptus trees on East Valley Road; another Santa Barbara Bowl show announced; parts of Goleta Beach County Park to close for storm-related repairs; Vandenberg Space Force Base's self-mythologizing; group show at Marcia Burtt Gallery; taking San Ysidro Trail all the way to the top. 10
January 14, 2026
A Better Look at the Health Resort Proposed in the Foothills
Plus: Hotel Milo got renovated and a name tweak; Arroyo Hondo Preserve closed for months due to storm damage; new bank branch downtown; the quest for quality magazines; James Taylor concert; Rodeo Riviera opened in the Funk Zone; Heal the Ocean talk at La Casa de Maria; San Ysidro Ranch added a paved parking lot. 10
January 13, 2026
January 6, 2026
December 24, 2025
December 16, 2025
Another Small Hotel Proposed for Downtown Santa Barbara
Plus: An effort to reduce freeway noise; new vintage shop in the Oreña Adobe; farewell to a beautiful overpass; give directly rather than to charity muggers; more changes to the Biltmore; new volunteer opportunity at Bellosguardo; the big apartment complex under construction on E. Haley Street. 3
December 10, 2025
First Look at the Music Academy of the West’s Downtown Venue
Plus: The Funk Zone lost two dozen free parking spaces; Iris Galerie has opened; new tenant for the cute space on De La Guerra Plaza; permanent conservation of 587 acres in the Los Alamos Valley; Preservation Hall Jazz Band in concert; Anacapa Architecture's handsome office on State Street. 1
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
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.
And if the anti's are worried about pollution, the answer is obvious. Electrify the entire LOSSAN Corridor. Cleaner, quieter, and allows for faster trains. And… — Judy's Older Brother