Aloha Fun’s skating ring seems to be complete from peering into the window. Not sure what’s going on there.
It is our one complaint and that is why is it so hard to have a nice market in Montecito? Vons may have nice folks but it is simply depressing. The upper village store is much nicer but just a tad small.
While on the topic of date palms… question for Siteline + readers…
Anyone know why Hope Ranch appears to be replacing Canary Island Date Palms with the less majestic Medjool? I just drove Las Palmas and Marina and it seems multiple Canary Island Palms that probably died or had issues are being replaced with Medjool palms. I might not have my ID exactly correct, but these do not seem to be Canaries. Bad decision! Am I wrong? The trees are sparse, skinny, and have foliage that’s more blue. They won’t grow to match the size of the Canaries, either. Have I gotten my ID wrong and these will in fact grow up to match? Poor decision if not.
In 30 years in Montecito, I only use Von if I have an extreme emergency. Dark and inferior products. I drive over to tri county, Trader Joe’s and Gelsons…would be nice to have a good neighborhood market.
Tom, the manager of Vons is working to keep the store stocked with good merchandise that we shoppers request . They have a terrific meat department, great floral and always fresh produce and a helpful liquor department and they keep the store clean and organized. The supply issues are annoying for all. I am told the conversion to Pavilions is due to some landlord demands. These people are frustrated . They are so accommodating and will bring in almost anything I request. I for one look forward to the conversion to happen sooner than later. I am a daily shopper and they treat be so well.
Anne, no, the city owns none of the property. Huguette Clark left her home to a private foundation, not to the city. (There has been some, um, confusion, about this in the local press. The foundation has asked for city approval of a permit that would allow it to open the home to regular tours.
There is a lot of fantastic open space/lawn at The estate. It would be nice if at least the grounds were more open to the public.
Does the City own the entire property?
I thought the same!
But what happened to the common good? It is still a shared resource as noted in a previous post. In the time of an historic drought, Oprah chooses to plant grass on the former 26 acre Semair horse property. It looks like a golf course. This property is far away from her house. So disappointing.
Wowza, awesome! Congratulations and happy days ahead. ?
Here's a video if you missed the exhibition of paintings by Huguette Clark, ending June 26, 2022, at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. I spoke at the museum to mark the opening, and here's a link to that presentation on March 16, 2022, including photos you haven't seen before.
https://www.emptymansionsbook.com/blog
The video was produced by TV Santa Barbara. The paintings were on loan from the Bellosguardo Foundation, which is seeking city permission to open the Clark home in Santa Barbara to the public for tours. Also on view at the Santa Barbara museum is a collection of Fiesta costumes owned by Huguette and her mother, Anna Clark, the widow of Sen. W.A. Clark. All are featured in our nonfiction book Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune.
It's still a scarce shared resource no matter how someone procures an outsize portion of it. Being rich and able to legally pay to monopolize something everybody needs is kind of an out of touch/out of date excuse for someone who normally strives for leadership. It's also a failure of imagination. Oprah has the resources and access to creative professionals to do something sustainable there that still honors the history, sets an example, and helps move the world to better paradigms and fashions. As she has done in the past with other things. Water is a leadership issue now.
Well- at least that building won’t change the look of Santa Ynez proper
I forgot. I’ll add in later, or feel free to add the link in a comment
Noticed that the golf story uses quotes from the SB Independent but that the article is not linked. Is there any reason every other publication has a link except for Indy
You about gave me a heart attack using that photo of the girls above your headline about the Clark estate. I thought the photo was from inside Bellosguardo. . . .
The whole state is in aridification. You can't take water from one area and not have it seriously affect that area. And, for what...watering gardens?
"...these crafty, wealthy folks figured out some big-time workarounds, like calling a polo field an agricultural area and having water trucked in from nearby towns.
...Since the water generally comes from neighboring areas, the trucking doesn't help with the drought any, it just skirts local regulations."
https://la.curbed.com/2014/8/25/10056410/oprah-shipping-in-drought-water-to-massive-montecito-estate
Didn't say they broke any rules just that we all live in the same area and we all know the challenges we face. Folks like Oprah tend to lecture others and virtue signal while living a very different life than they preach for others. Not to pick on her as she has ample company.
What a funny typo: "Bodiratnangkura, who recently sold a $32 million Bel Air mansion to Opendoor CEO Eric Wu, has already put the Montecito pad up for lease at $65,0000/month." So does it rent at 65K or 650K? Yikes.
@Mark - Oprah received no special treatment and didn't break any rules. She paid a private service for the water and the delivery of the water. There is nothing to stop you from legally doing the same.
I look at Bellosguardo and yes the history is nice but the water use for an empty property must be stunning and in a time where we are told to conserve water which we must do I find this another example of the different rules for people like Oprah this place and the rest of us.
That last shot of Bellosguardo ... was the beach really completely empty, or photoshopped that way?
Is the Wolf Camera sign from the 80’s still on the awning? Totally disgusting corner. Who even goes there but squatters and homeless.
I agree bill, the lot doesn't look any worse than it did before solar. And since SB unified seems so underfunded that it can't afford to paint and do basic upkeep on the SBHS buildings I'd guess that adding any sort of architectural detail to the basic solar carports was out of the question.
I certainly wasn't knocking this listing. More power to the sellers if they prevail in this shifting market. Like I said it's a beautiful property and renovation but definitely not a family house. Maybe a pied-a-terre for out-of-towners or a family/couple that doesn't want or need a second bath.
