••• “Santa Barbara’s Historic Landmarks Commission on Wednesday gave final approval of a 14-room hotel at 801 State St., right where it intersects with De la Guerra Plaza. The project calls for a third-story addition, with a roof deck.” —Noozhawk
••• That recent rain sure felt good, but it “will help provide only a very small, if any, increase to Central Coast reservoirs and other water supplies, such as groundwater. While the storm passed more than 24 hours ago, it typically takes a few days for reservoir levels to see any sort of increase as water runoff flows in gradually. However, the ground is so dry that much of the water soaked into the ground, providing negligible runoff.” —KEYT
••• Dirt noticed that Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi sold their Picacho Lane estate for $55 million, and that they bought two more Montecito properties: “DeGeneres and de Rossi have moved to Rancho San Leandro, their historic ‘adobe home’ elsewhere in Montecito, which they owned from 2017-2018 and bought back earlier this year for $14.3 million. Located in a guard-gated community, the property dates to the 1850s. Records now reveal the DeGeneres-de Rossis have expanded Rancho San Leandro’s acreage by paying $12 million for the house immediately across the street.” They also purchased a 1,400-square-foot house off San Leandro Lane for $3 million.
••• Noozhawk has a lengthy follow-up to the Independent’s recent rant about Bellosguardo, with a helpful recap of how things have come to be there (including how—in classic Santa Barbara fashion—”the city is giving the Clark estate [event] permits with one hand, and saying private events are not allowed with the other hand.” And then there was this: “The Bellosguardo Foundation, Inc. is delinquent in its charitable foundation status as of October for failing to file independent audits of its finances along with its 990 forms in 2018, 2019 and 2020, according to the California Office of the Attorney General. […] Any foundation listed as delinquent is not permitted to operate or solicit contributions in the state of California. ‘Our office is currently evaluating the foundation’s audit waiver request,’ the Attorney General’s Press Office said.”
••• “In a private email, SB mayoral candidate Deborah Schwartz told key supporters over the weekend that Supervisor and local Democratic honcho Das Williams urged her to drop out the race and back incumbent Cathy Murillo—then asked if the party could ‘offer’ her something in return. Schwartz, writing to board members of the independent Democratic Women’s club, which has endorsed her, portrayed Williams’ bid to get her to throw her support behind the party-endorsed Murillo as part of a broader, ‘ugly’ and ‘shameful’ effort to vilify challengers in the campaigns for mayor and two council seats.” It’s called politics. —Newsmakers
••• “A Solvang resort has proposed adding 40 glamorous camping units, a plan that could involve several hurdles such as annexing land into the city and overcoming a previous effort to limit growth. The Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort, which sits inside the city limits, wants to annex about 10 acres adjacent to its current land to add glamping units, or outdoor camping with amenities such as full restrooms.” —Noozhawk
••• “For decades, human activity had completely evicted burrowing owls and other animals and plants from an open space beyond the elbow of Storke Road as it turns toward Isla Vista. At [UCSB’s] North Campus Open Space, some of these species are now trickling back due to the efforts of staff, volunteers, and student workers to restore the former ecosystem to its former health and undo many years’ worth of ecological damage.” And there are free monthly tours. —Independent
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