••• A mirror-and-glass cube outside Santa Barbara is available on Airbnb starting at $313 (!) per night: “Located in the woods on a three-acre plot, […] the unique retreat includes the private glass cottage, which has a queen-size bed inside, as well as use of shared amenities on the property [such as an] outside lounge kitchen, a dreamy redwood outdoor shower/bath, along with a pool, hot tub, and hammocks for relaxing. The hosts even throw in some fresh eggs from their chickens.” —Travel + Leisure (via Edible Santa Barbara)
••• As you’ve likely heard, Santa Barbara County has fallen in line with the state and rescinded its indoor mask mandate, effective February 16, with certain exceptions: “Universal masking will remain required in specified settings including, but not limited to, public transit, indoors in K-12 schools, childcare, shelters, healthcare settings, correctional facilities, and other care facilities. Only unvaccinated persons will be required to mask in all indoor public settings.”
••• Horrifying story on the front page of the Montecito Journal about residents whose three-year-old French bulldog died, pretty clearly from overheating, while in the care of a dog groomer in town. The paper never identifies the business—probably out of a desire not to doom it—but I have to imagine local dog owners will be displeased by the decision.
••• Biltmore owner Ty Warner “says Santa Barbara County property tax collectors are charging him way too much and has appealed their assessment of the luxury hotel’s property value. In 2020, agents for the reclusive owner said the Biltmore was worth $52.9 million, while county assessors said it was worth $232.1 million. The following year, agents for the hotel’s ownership group insisted the property—four parcels in all—was worth $117.1 million, while the county assessor valued it at $234.3 million.” The Independent article also notes that his closure of the property has starved the county of millions of dollars in bed taxes and left its many employees in the lurch.
••• “The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved a ground lease agreement and services agreement with the Good Samaritan Shelter during its meeting Tuesday for the DignityMoves interim housing project anticipated to open in downtown Santa Barbara in April. The DignityMoves interim housing community will be located at county-owned property at 1016 Santa Barbara St. and include 33 prefabricated modular housing units for individuals experiencing homelessness.” —Noozhawk
••• “The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission this month unanimously approved one of the largest and smelliest cannabis greenhouse projects in the Carpinteria Valley—a close neighbor of Carpinteria High School and a flashpoint in the local pot wars—amid hopes that an emerging technology from the Netherlands will give residents some lasting relief from the ‘skunky’ stench of pot. […] But members of Concerned Carpinterians, a loosely knit group of 300 people who advocate for stricter regulation of the cannabis industry, are not so confident. They said this week they would appeal to the county Board of Supervisors to overturn the commission’s decision and deny zoning permits for Ever-Bloom.” —Newsmakers
••• “Stage and screen star Nancy Travis was hoping to perform a one-woman show when, by sheer coincidence […] Ms. Travis’ friend, who works with Santa Barbara–based Ensemble Theatre Company, contacted her about starring in Lillian, a one-woman drama in which Ms. Travis would play a half-dozen or so characters, women and men.” It runs March 3-13. P.S. I’m sure we all know Travis from her many more recent endeavors, but I’ll always love her in 1993’s So I Married an Axe Murderer. —Santa Barbara News-Press
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The groomer was For Paws Salon on CVR. Just horribly negligent behavior.
A local Summerland (now) Vet begged me not to report that her dog bit my child- and it wasn’t its first time biting…she left that dog to die in her vehicle. In front of her house. I hope it still haunts her. I am grateful her child has successfully made it to 18
Owners of French and English bulldogs (from a breeder) also share blame. It is INHUMANE to buy these dogs that were bred to look a specific way which makes it hard for them to breath! As the vet in the article said, they can overheat in shady 65 degree weather. They’re also very prone to skin infections and skeletal issues from their short bodies. Stop buying these dogs and subjecting them to a life of misery
This is just such an absurdly bad take I don’t even know where to start. This dog did not die of natural causes. It was left in a heating cage until it died. It’s body temperature was 109 when it was left at the vet. I don’t know how many short snout dogs you know but I can guarantee you they don’t live “lives of misery.” Give me a break.
The cage was not heated. In the Montecito Journal it stated that the cage was not heated after they investigated.