April 26, 2024
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Street Smarts: If you’re looking for a few thousand acres, we’ve got a couple of deals for you

IN THIS ARTICLE

Anyone with a cookie jar big enough to hold $175 million in spare change can own a couple of signature ranch properties in the Ojai-Carpinteria corridor.

Black Mountain Ranch, owned by latex and rubber glove magnate Richard Gilleland, is for sale in Upper Ojai, at a price tag of just $100 million. The 3,600-acre spread was assembled from multiple parcels and was featured in a recent Los Angeles Times article.

At nearly the same time, a 3,200-acre parcel of undeveloped land in the Carpinteria foothills has gone on the market for $75 million. It is zoned for one large single-family compound though it might qualify for two. The current occupants are two Airstream trailers though there are plans for an 8,000-foot mansion, according to the Wall Street Journal. It is above the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club.

Street Smarts would gladly accept any remnant square feet left over, once the “roughly” 3,200-acre property is properly surveyed.

NEW MARKETING CHIEF AT THE ZOO

The Santa Barbara Zoo has brought on Kevin Nuss as its new director of marketing. Nuss has a decade of rich experience in the sports marketing and entertainment industry, according to a news release from the zoo, and previously was director of event marketing and sales at Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment. He served on the philanthropy committee of Phoenix Suns Charities. He attended the University of Puget Sound and got his MBA at Arizona State.

SHELTERBOX REACHES MILESTONE

ShelterBox USA, an emergency shelter group based in Santa Barbara, has surpassed 2 million people supported since 2000. The nonprofit called the milestone “a significant event” but pointed out there are approximately 104 million people displaced around the world currently. Kudos to president Kerri Murray, who is focused on the Israel and Gaza crisis demonstrating the “impact conflicts are having on innocent populations.”

BE THE CHANGE

The GlendaIe Library, Arts & Culture Department and Ventura County Library are teaming up on the Be The Change Series, with an author event commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. On May 27, author Hannibal Johnson will be in conversation with activist, actress, and writer Donzaleigh Abernathy. Participants can register for this virtual event at glac.info/BeTheChange.

A NEW DOCTOR FOR SOUTH SUDAN

Dr. Ken Waxman, retired emergency room chief surgeon at Cottage Health, reports on the latest graduates from his nonprofit, Doctors for South Sudan. One of the newest is Malueth Abraham Angui, who worked with Waxman 11 years ago in a Doctors Without Borders clinic in South Sudan. While working there, Malueth became inspired to become a doctor. After a long journey that included a bout with malaria, he just graduated from the Jomo Kenyatta Medical School in Kenya.

TERRARIUMS, IN PERSON

The first in-person Terrarium Class at Westerlay Orchids retail shop will take place at end of May. Hosts will guide you through the terrarium-building process, providing tips along the way. The program is May 29 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Westerlay Showroom, 3504 Via Real, Carpinteria.

FINAL SCENES

• CAMBRIDGE BOUND: CSU Channel Islands Associate Professor of History Robin Mitchell has received a year-long fellowship from Harvard Radcliffe Institute in Cambridge, Mass. The acceptance rate is less than 3%.

• FLYING HIGH: The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is opening its summer exhibit “Butterflies Alive!” on May 29 in the Sprague Butterfly Pavilion.

• BROWNLEY BILL: The House of Representatives has passed a bill from Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Thousand Oaks, the Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Act. It would prioritize homeless veterans with dependent children in reintegration programs run by the Department of Labor.