High-End Rentals Are Going Through the Roof

••• The new southbound carpool lane between Santa Monica Road in Carpinteria and Sheffield Drive in Montecito has opened.

••• The fires in L.A. have inspired homeowners here to put their properties up for rent—sometimes at much higher prices than they asked in the past. The changes below are all from the last few days (and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are others).

—0 East Valley Road: $55,000 (vs. $40,000 before the fires)
—2148 Piedras Drive: $55,000 (vs. $40,000)
—3435 Marina Drive: $55,000 (vs. $40,000)
—999 Hot Springs Road: $60,000 (vs. $50,000)
—137 Olive Mill Road: $75,000 (vs. $60,000)

UPDATE: One property listed above was repriced before the fires, so it’s not relevant here and has been removed. The property has two listings on Zillow, and while one showed a price change on January 10, the one other does show the price change in December.

UPDATE: While I understand that this is upsetting on the face of it, please remember that these are just numbers and dates, and there may very well be other factors—such as substantial improvements, and about which we know nothing—that have led to the price increases, and the timing could be accidental. (Take the property mentioned above as an example: it was innocent but got caught in the net, so to speak.) And under no condition should you call, email, or otherwise harass the agents or owners. Take that energy and do something positive with it.

••• The spec reno at 1035 Coyote Road apparently got the message about that faux-rustic facade.

••• Mary Suding Antiques in Summerland has closed. According to an update on Google, it’s looking for a new location.

••• Speaking of antiques, after I posted about the Weeping Willow Inn in what used to be Spanishtown, P. sent in a photo of “the original sign for the Alameda Saloon that my father obtained from a Mr. Joe Lopez back in the early 60s. Mr. Lopez lived in the former Alameda Saloon and used to let my father and his buddies dig for old bottles around the saloon. As I recall, my father bartered an old washing machine for the sign. Note the spelling of the word ‘liqours’ on the bottom right side of photo.”

••• Japanese Breakfast plays the Santa Barbara Bowl on August 23.

••• “I wonder if you could shed any insight on the ‘Robbins Street Overpass’ that’s built on the Harding School campus on the Westside?” emailed B. “Obviously it connects the two parts of the campus in a car-free way—but It has always been strange to me that it’s a bridge, with a space underneath, but it’s too low for anyone to pass under it. Do you know how or why it came about?” Harding principal Veronica Binkley had this to say: “What I understand is that utilities run under the asphalt for the local homes. I have also heard that the road used to flood causing students and staff to use planks to get across the street. The space under the bridge is low to provide easy transport from side to side of campus and to afford a space for water to run should it flood. This is not ‘official’ information, merely information based on what I have heard from former teachers and students.” My guess is that someone out there remembers when—and why—the bridge was built….

••• “Stomp” is at the Granada Theatre on January 21. It’s been decades since I saw the show, but I remember it fondly, and I think it’s excellent entertainment for kids.

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