Odds & Ends

January 6, 2026

A Raft of Store Closings

Plus: Including Far West Guns, Whitney Chic Boutique, Paradise Imports, and Caravan by KiKiSol; More Mesa bluff erosion imperils homes; Los Patos Way tenant confirmed; "for lease" sign at Open Air Bicycles; drainage and slippery patching on the 101. 6

December 24, 2025

The Frog Wall Has Been Freshened Up

Plus: The New Year's Day Polar Dip is back on this year; downtown salon said to be closing; Booker T. Jones in concert; invasive spider discovered here; Oskar Fischinger art exhibit. 9

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

December 9, 2025

David Byrne to Play the Santa Barbara Bowl

Plus: Photographer opening a gallery on Santa Claus Lane; holiday market with wares made by kids; Lotusland's removal of 30 eucalyptus trees; La Cumbre Country Club update; the answer to a "Where in Santa Barbara...?" stumper.

November 30, 2025

New Jeff Shelton Building Proposed Downtown

Plus: Summerland boutique to close; new European eyewear/apparel shop on State Street; Folly has expanded; Maker House's handsome pop-up; Armando Ramos art exhibit. 4

November 25, 2025

The Fight Over La Cumbre Country Club

Plus: Santa Barbara's first electrical muscle stimulation studio; two local Pilates instructors are opening a studio downtown; Game Seeker's new location has debuted; Sullivan Goss's annual "100 Grand" exhibit; works by Dora Vital at Seimandi & Leprieur. 1

November 16, 2025

Two More New Fitness Studios

Plus: Veronica Beard is open on Coast Village Road; firsthand report from a friend whose house was burgled; the inaugural Santa Barbara Literary Festival will be this spring; the Los Patos Bridge interpretive display; Train and Barenaked Ladies to play the Santa Barbara Bowl. 5

November 10, 2025

A Better Look at the Plans to Redevelop the Sears Part of La Cumbre Plaza

Plus: Bucatini pop-up at The Post; Santa Barbara Rock Gym to close; University of California bought another building downtown; more improvements at Plaza del Mar park; Yellow Pages update; Jack Johnson to play the Santa Barbara Bowl; new Rubenstein Chan show. 7

November 3, 2025

Montecito Is Getting a Public Pickleball Court

Plus: Landscape designs for the Coast Village Road medians; new gym in the Funk Zone; 100 trees to be removed for the reconfiguration of the Los Patos Way off-ramp; Vandenberg Space Force Base's launch alerts are no longer useful; how to opt out of receiving the Yellow Pages; Rainbow Kitten Surprise returns to the Santa Barbara Bowl. 11