October 16, 2025
Tag: 505 E. Los Olivos Street
Paseo Nuevo Redevelopment Hits a Roadblock
Other recent news: Update on the apartment complex behind the Mission; SpaceX launches likely to increase; cannabis taxes continue to disappoint; converting downtown commercial buildings to residential got easier; new Santa Barbara Police Department headquarters delayed; rent stabilization ordinance faulted for lack of transparency; Lower Tunnel Trail reopened. 9
September 18, 2025
Indoor Pickleball Chain Has Plans to Open in Goleta
Other recent news: Update on the bill to stymie the development behind the Mission; Dos Pueblos Ranch has a buyer; Jensen Guitar & Music to close; new hotel in an unwieldy location; downtown Ventura zone will remain off-limits to cars; California considering strict defensible space rules. 10
September 11, 2025
State Legislative Move Could Block the Development Behind the Mission
Other recent news: Downtown parking lots may shift to "pay-on-foot" model; possible redesign of the Earl Warren Showgrounds; 956-unit Noleta complex to start construction; new pedestrian signal on Las Positas Road; Santa Barbara offering rebates for lawn replacement. 10
July 10, 2025
July 3, 2025
Conceptual Representations of Two Dreadful Builder’s Remedy Projects
Other recent news: The owners of the monstrosity behind the Mission haven't paid property taxes in two years; Goleta settles with developers of 56-home project next to Glen Annie Golf Course; city adopts sidewalk signage regulations; Highway 101 widening funded; Goleta's Independence Day drone show; new car wash; Lake Los Carneros footbridge still lacks funding for repair; another Trump administration threat to Los Padres National Forest; the tree of the month. 16
June 26, 2025
Paseo Nuevo Housing Ambitions Cut in Half
Other recent news: Mayor Randy Rowse is running for re-election; remembering architect Henry Lenny; architects and planners protest two misguided Santa Barbara developments; the Trump administration wants to allow new oil and gas extraction in the California Coastal National Monument and Carrizo Plain National Monument; a visit to the post-facelift Ritz-Carlton Bacara. 15
May 30, 2025
November 14, 2024
Caltrans to Install Underdrains at the Castillo Street Underpass
Other recent news: Hedgerow residents push back on plans to add dirt sidewalks; another look at the monstrosity proposed for behind the Mission; Mountain Fire update; no more fence around the huge Moreton Bay fig tree; X Games won't return to Ventura next year. 3
August 22, 2024
Opening Date for the Santa Barbara Public Library Plaza
Other recent news: The eight-story building proposed near the Mission; a bit of intel on the buyers of the former St. Anthony's Seminary complex; President Biden and his family are vacationing in the Santa Ynez Valley; feedback on the plaza to replace Franceschi House; Moody Sisters cottages istreated; the new Tilly Timms souvenir store; California Highway Patrol issued a ton of speeding tickets; driver crashes car and flees on skateboard. 5
May 6, 2024
A Santa Barbara Landmark Is Headed to Auction
The former St. Anthony’s Seminary complex at 2300 Garden Street will be auctioned off next month. This marks the second major change for the area around the Mission, what with a seven-story apartment complex proposed for the neighboring Mount Calvary Monastery property. 25
Burning Questions
- What Are Those Old Buildings at the Corner of Castillo and Montecito Streets?
- When Will the Coast Village Road Medians Be Completed?
- What’s This Scaffold Structure on Las Positas Road?
- Why Does Street Striping Take So Long to Happen?
- Why Do Rocket Launches Look the Way They Do?
- How Is the San Ysidro Debris Basin Designed to Work?
- What’s This Building on Helena Avenue?
Recent Comments
Hallelujah! The return of that Southbound on-ramp is long overdue — Tammy
You've done a great thing for the hapless men of Santa Barbara with this series. Stopping by half of these stores. — Andy
The post office renaming will cost roughly $500,000 paid for by the USPS internal funds from stamps and fees. — Derek
Thank you, Erik, for reminding your readers to support local businesses; it is one of the critical ways to help our communities thrive. (I laughed… — Pat
I agree about the skimpy wine pour. However, we loved the shared entrees (chicken and salmon) with their special rice. Yes there were leftovers but… — ElizabethW
That 5% would go to all employees proportionate to their hours I would presume compared to tips where more skilled staff take a higher percentage,… — Don
Geo , you know absolutely nothing about the restaurant business. — Roy
What if, and bear with me here because this is complicated, restaurants just paid their staff normally and charged prices that reflected those expenses, i.e.… — Rich
Little Mountain just isn’t organized. Everyone is very nice and the atmosphere stylish, but there is something wrong with it. The food is weird, portions… — Joan
I intensely to test Sur charges for the cost of doing business. Will they give back 5% profits to the patrons when they do extremely… — Geo