••• The multi-tenant space under construction at 700 Linden Avenue in Carp snagged its first retail tenant: Channel Islands Surfboards is taking a storefront on Linden. “The plan is to offer locals and tourists a curated selection of our Carpinteria-built and -designed Channel Islands product range, along with select third-party vendors,” says president Scott Anderson. The Funk Zone store, above, will continue to be the company’s flagship.
••• From Caltrans (and worth bearing in mind when you’re headed to the airport): “A bridge replacement project on Highway 217 above San Jose Creek in Goleta, just north of the entrance to the University of California Santa Barbara is scheduled to begin construction in mid-April. Construction will occur during the daytime and overnight hours. The traveling public can expect traffic delays as well as closures of the Sandspit Road on and offramps, periodic lane closures and full highway closures with exact dates and times to be determined. […] Bridge construction is expected to be complete in Summer 2025.” And “a second project will begin this summer on the US 101 San Jose Creek Bridge just north of Hwy. 217. The northbound and southbound bridges will be demolished and replaced in separate phases, keeping traffic open but with fewer lanes. Caltrans will release more information on this project when details are certain.”
••• Patrick and Ursula Nesbitt’s 27,000-square-foot mansion at 120 Montecito Ranch Lane is officially back on the market, this time for $70 million. It started out in 2016 at $65 million, dropped as low as $55 million, and got pulled from auction in 2020. Do look at the listing photos—Robin Leach would’ve been in heaven.
••• The MarBorg story keeps changing. First the company told me that it was charging way more for non-curbside service in order to finance a basic-rate reduction for everyone. Then it told the Montecito Association that “the county has been moving to an automated system where drivers do not leave their trucks, as the truck will do the bin emptying. To do that, they need trash bins placed at the curb.” A reader who contacted the county’s Waste Management Division was told that….
MarBorg has an aging workforce and the ability to attract and retain staff that can/are willing to lift heavy cans repeatedly and move containers in and out of properties is proving to be increasingly difficult. Curbside collection allows MarBorg staff to utilize wheeled carts and the dump mechanism on collection vehicles rather than brute strength. This increases driver retention and decreases injuries. It also reduces the potential for property damage and dangerous interactions with family pets.
The standard collection method for recycling and waste across jurisdictions in California (and the US for that matter) is automated curbside collection and has been for many years. Backyard service is relatively unheard of in the industry today and is typically only offered to those with a condition that prevents them from bringing carts to the curb. Service for those with a condition is still available in all areas MarBorgservices free of charge by the way.
Trucks left idling on streets while staff retrieve containers has additional impacts including increased vehicle emissions, traffic congestion and increased potential of vehicle theft/damage, etc.
Most customers in MarBorg service areas have been bringing their carts to the curb for several years. As such, they have effectively been paying for service they were not using and subsidizing those that were. And, with the universal implementation of wheeled carts rather than collection cans, it will be far easier for customers to move their containers to the curb.
Anyone who has tried to maneuver a 95-gallon packed with green waste may take issue with that last line.
••• As Stephen commented, the U.S. Bank branch at State and Carrillo will close at the end of May (because the bank is merging with Union Bank, which has a branch a few buildings east on Carrillo).
••• Jazz at the Ballroom is back at the Lobero Theatre on May 11 with a show called “Get Out of Town,” led by the Konrad Paszkudski Trio: “We’re touring the country through the American Songbook. Even though the birthplace of the Songbook was New York, that didn’t stop musicians from creating a catalogue of memorable tunes about other cities. It’s a show of swinging music with a dozen stops in places like Chicago, Rhode Island, Alabama, San Francisco, and even down Route 66.”
••• Spotted by A. on Old Pueblo Trail….
················
Sign up for the Siteline email newsletter and you’ll never miss a post.
There was a rumor that Erewhon Market was coming to East Beach. Any updates?
In 2021, Erewhon announced that Santa Barbara was among the locations it hoped to open stores, but since then, nothing. Santa Barbara doesn’t have a ton of obvious places for a new supermarket.
If erewhon made it happen in Beverly Hills, they can make it happen in SB.
Erewhon is way too LA for SB, doubtful they could stay in business here.
In my opinion, Marborg’s most recent (third) explanation is not materially different from their second explanation – just more elaborative. Before I moved to SB, everywhere I lived you were required to bring your cans to the curb (and I’m old enough to remember when you had to use your own hand truck to wheel the round metal bin). This sounds like a good business decision to me.