The Home Page | Heroes, Houses, and Holiday Happenings

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on March 31, 2024. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletter

The Unity Shoppe’s 37th Annual Holiday Celebration and Telethon is happening next week on Friday, December 8 from 5-8 PM. In addition to stars like Kenny Loggins, Rob Lowe, and Michael McDonald, you’ll see plenty of familiar faces sponsoring and volunteering. The photo above shows volunteers Kathy Hughes and Kathy Spieler of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. BHHS is a major sponsor again this year, along with American Riviera Bank, Montecito Bank & Trust, Community West Bank, Pacific Premier Bank, Steve Golis of Radius, Christine & Fal Oliver of Sothebys, Mike Richardson Realtors, and The Easter Team.

Volunteering for Unity has become a holiday tradition for some sponsors like The Easter Team, as shown above with Brooke Ebner of the Easter Team participating with her adorable sons back in 2022. The event will be televised live on KEYT. Find out more about how you can help right here. 

And when The Easter Team is not volunteering at the Unity Telethon, they are helping clients buy and sell houses … including the 5-bedroom 3-bath home shown above, located in the Mountain View school district. 5417 San Patricio Drive is open nice long hours today from 10-4, so you can fit a visit into your schedule!

The Rotary Club of Montecito awarded Community Grants of $1,000 each to 14 local organizations. Club President Tony Morris stated that the funds go to causes and projects “that make our communities stronger.” The awards were presented at a ceremony held at the Music Academy of the West, and went to a wide variety of favorite groups. Among the awardees, shown above, were Renee Grubb representing the Teachers Fund, and Susan Renehan from Habitat for Humanity of Southern SB County, which was the recipient of this year’s SBAOR charity golf tournament.

I was excited to see this super-cute new listing in my neighborhood. 1735 Bath Street was recently designated as a “Structure of Merit” by the Historic Landmarks Commission for its ‘architectural and historic importance to the City of Santa Barbara’. Just on the market this week, this 3 bedroom 2 bath Craftsman looks like it blends old world charm with thoughtful modern touches. It’s so new I haven’t visited yet, but I plan to! It is listed by Kendrick Guehr of Epstein Partners. There won’t be any public open houses, so check with Kendrick if you’re interested in learning more.

Last but not least, we had my favorite Independent event this week: the annual Local Heroes luncheon where we honor some of the neighbors in our midst who contribute to make our community a better place for all. Held at Soho Restaurant and Music Club this past Thursday, the luncheon is always a memorable event to see old friends and meet new ones. One of my highlights this year was meeting Local Hero Hap Freund’s wife Claudia, who exclaimed “I love your newsletter; especially when you include Scout!” So this one’s for you, Claudia. 

Scout sure does enjoy our late afternoon hikes this time of year, like this sunset jaunt on Thursday evening at the San Marcos Foothills preserve. Inside or outside, enjoy your day!