••• In February, the Four Seasons Biltmore resort announced that it will partially reopen on May 31. That’s less than three weeks away, so I went and peeked over the fence. The main building is coming together, but the grounds and many of the outbuildings are still a work in progress, and the hotel website is not accepting reservations yet. A related thought: Has anyone heard what owner Ty Warner’s estate plans entail? The question seems fair, seeing as how he’ll be 80 in September, I don’t believe there’s an obvious heir, and he owns many of Montecito’s most prominent properties—the Biltmore, the Coral Casino, the Montecito Club, the San Ysidro Ranch, and an oceanfront estate—on which many livelihoods depend. UPDATE: The general manager just sent out an email saying that the opening has been delayed till next year: “The scope of the project and lengthy permitting process required to bring these enhancements to life has unfortunately pushed back our ability to open the property this summer as hoped. We anticipate we will be in a position to reopen the Resort in 2025, barring any significant permit challenges or delays.”
••• Press release: “The 13th-annual Harbor Nautical Swap Meet [will be] on Saturday, May 18, in the Main Harbor Parking Lot from 8 a.m. to noon. Dozens of vendors will display and sell boat rigging, surfboards, fishing gear, inflatable boats, pumps, winches, boat motors, and other marine/nautical items. Spend the morning looking for new gear while enjoying complimentary coffee and other refreshments courtesy of the Harbor Merchants Association.”
••• Are you really allowed to post garish “pay parking only” signs all over the side of a landmark?
••• A GoFundMe has been set up for the family that has lost its house to a landslide on Las Alturas Road. And if you go to check the situation out, bear in mind that the street is being reduced to one lane for alternating traffic between 1105 Las Alturas and Terrace Road. “The southbound lane closure is a preventative measure to protect the road and public utilities from damage in response to a recent landslide,” said the city.
••• The car wash on N. Milpas Street has reopened. I don’t know whether it’s still called Prestige Hand Car Wash.
••• At the Santa Barbara Museum of Art on May 19: a free talk by Robert Ooley, architect and author of The Butterfly Wood House, about the Frank Lloyd Wright house at the corner of Hot Springs Road and Summit Road.
••• Broadway in Santa Barbara announced its 2024-2025 season, a.k.a. a celebration of IP: Mean Girls, Ain’t Too Proud (about the Temptations), Clue, and The Addams Family. I loved the movie Clue long before everyone else came around—I saw all three endings in the theater—so I can’t resist a clip.
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I hear you about the signs. I did put those up and I was not thrilled either. I did not give my sign guy the exact Pantone colors but this was not what I had imagined. They also were supposed to be 18 x 24 not 24 x 36. So it was a comedy of errors. Maybe I can move them to another place in the lot that is less conspicuous. I do care very much about these things as well. Wish signs were not so expensive these days but I will think about it for sure. Also wish we didn’t have so many problems with people parking in the lot and walking off. People of SB, if you want to park here please adhere to the rules. The rates are very reasonable and thank you for supporting local business!
I went to the newly opened carwash on Milpas last week and they did a fabulous job on my car! It’s completely remodeled inside and appears to have new ownership.
This clip is EVERYTHING ????