Updates on Two Other Big Funk Zone Projects

Plus: Lotusland reopens to the public soon; food drive today will exchange toilet paper for non-perishable food; Mate Gallery photography is on sale; marketing real estate during a pandemic.

Newsletter: May 9

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Nordstrom Will Close Its Santa Barbara Store

Given the state of retail even before the Covid-19 nightmare, this can hardly come as a shock—except perhaps to Paseo Nuevo, which assured everyone just last week that "Nordstrom isn't going anywhere."

Montecito Compound With a Dreamy Garden

The week's other top price reductions: Half of a historic 1930s building downtown that got split into condos; 10,000-square-foot property now $2 million less; sweet house with freeway issues; what $2.5 million buys in central Montecito; one of the cooler houses in Hope Ranch.

New Hotel Coming to Lower State Street

Other local news: Hollister Ranch fire has burned 200 acres; how the I Madonnari festival will work this year; UCSB pushes all summer classes online; Goleta now requires face masks in any essential business; Randall Road Debris Basin update.

Field + Fort and the Pickle Room Are Reopening

More food news: Acme Hospitality's depressing survey about the possible future of dining out; the emerging network of groups helping to feed the vulnerable; early hours at Dune Coffee Roasters; new pizza at Bettina.

Riviera Midcentury With Quirky Interiors

Other noteworthy new listings: A mix of contemporary and exotic way up the mountain; Vegas-style neoclassical with 35-car motor court; privacy near San Ysidro Ranch; cute downtown cottage with even cuter artist studio.

The County Seeks Volunteers for Covid-19 Response Team

Plus: "For lease" sign at Treat skincare in Arlington Plaza; cleaner trailheads thanks to Montecito Trails Foundation and MarBorg; changes proposed to the city's Historic Resources Ordinance; grants to arts non-profits; SBIFF interview with the writer-director of "The Half of It."

Newsletter: May 6

The Siteline newsletter is the best way to follow the website. To subscribe, click the link at the bottom of this post. And you can unsubscribe at any time.

First Look at the New Design for Ortega Park

Other local news: Plum Goods on State Street has closed; Goleta is considering a one-percent sales-tax increase; antibody tests available, but they're unreliable; developer Ed St. George on how to fix Santa Barbara; embattled cultural center finally shuttered.