Montecito Heights Residents

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Meet the Neighbors! Montecito Heights Struts Its Stuff

Montecito Heights, unassuming and quiet, has many accomplished residents. Some of our venerated neighbors are not yet on the web, but you can check out some that are:

Check out Montecitan Stephen Breeze Smith's cool website! Art, music, poetry, instruments and sculpture! Pretty cool, too!

You can find pretty neat images and info at the site of dancer Cheryl A. Banks-Smith, who also happens to be lucky Stephen's missus.
Scott Rubel is well known to many as a former Montecito Heights representative to our Neighborhood Council, the ASNC. What you may not know is that Scott and his lovely wife Helen Driscoll have a fabulous website featuring gorgeous, modern, environmentally healthy, DIY (do-it-yourself) invitation kits designed by Helen herself. Check it out online. Go to the fabulous http://www.invitesite.com website now!
Artist J. Michael Walker, with more than 85 exhibitions to his credit and a recent write-up in the Los Angeles Times, creates dramatic public art in his own unique way. Walker also represents the arts on the ASNC board. Have a look at his fabulous work here!
Worth Having - Traditional Hand Made Garden Furniture Created right here in Montecito Heights by a skilled craftsman from a long line of fine woodworkers. He also happens to one of Montecito Heights reps on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council: Jack Fenn.
Sherri and Shawn Nourse are accomplished and successful musicians. Shawn plays drums for Dwight Yoakum, and Sherri's song "Lazy Balloon" saw some chart action! Yay!
Bill Murray's amazing LACP.org has become a fantastic tool for the Northeast area. It's pretty hard to Google anything Northeast LA or police-related without getting a hit from Bill's site. He's the guy you call when you need to report a crime, or even if you just wonder what the heck to do because you think something's not quite kosher. In his spare time, he travels all over the world as a television and film senior editor as well as creating and managing web sites. He is the current webmaster for ASNC's web site asnc.us. We love you Bill!
It's hard to believe that Martha Benedict only moved to Montecito Heights a few years ago. She serves as secretary on the Debs Park Advisory Board, pulled together the flawless 2003 ASNC first election and prepared all of the materials for it including creating an ASNC website (in collaboration with Donnette Thayer, the creator of this web site). Martha has acted as Vice-President and Co-Secretary for MHIA. An avid hiker, she has been integral to the efforts to preserve open space in Montecito Heights and throughout Northeast Los Angeles. She volunteers at the Audubon Nature Center and has planted several groves of California Walnut at Debs Park and on Flat-Top. This is just the short list of Martha's many contributions, and she's done this all while making a lot of friends who love her dearly and that other thing - a living. Martha is a website designer - check out her http://www.division-7.com website.
What can you say about a neighbor who jumps right in on a Neighborhood Clean-Up the same week she moves here? She's just plain awesome! Super new Montecito Heights resident Paloma Fierro says, "I just moved here, I've met a lot of great people, and I couldn't be happier!" Paloma is a realtor and she wants to begin to specialize in Montecito Heights properties. Check out her website at www.palomafierro.com. Paloma says, "I can net you top dollar with my marketing efforts and search the ENTIRE MLS for any listings in California." You know you're in a great community when the real estate pros move in. Yay!
Besides being a one man Montecito home restorer, neighbor Steve Rapak is an Art Director and Designer for web sites. He has worked with Martini & Rossi, Burger King, Rums of Puerto Rico, Rogaine, Blue Cross / Blue Shield and the Firestone Olympic Campaign, as well as doing a lot of freelance TV and Video work. But mostly he enjoys working on his Montecito Heights fixer-upper. Steve says, "One day people will drive up the street to look at the house and take photos goal. . and it will happen, maybe then I'll be able to sit and relax."
You may know biologist Chris Solek from his generous offer to include Montecito Heights residents in his fascinating US Forest Service sponsored study of subterranean termites. There's something irresistible about a man who can retain his thrill at the variety and abundance of animal life even while he makes his way around the tight crawl spaces under our old houses. Chris is a true scientist in much the same way that Charles Darwin was - with his heart and mind open to the beauty of all living things and their constructions - even if that happens to be an excellent example of a subterranean termite tunnel. Chris still owns a home here in Montecito Heights, though he is becoming quite the big man on campus at UC Berkeley. Go Chris!
Sandy Cruze and her daughter Vanessa have been bringing beauty to everything they touch. Their fabulous salon/showroom/gallery Ellouise delights the eye, ear, and soul.
Mike Whaley, webmaster, community activist, and all around cool guy, has kindly submitted his link! Among his other accomplishments, Mike is a military historian, outdoorsman, and even built his own airplane a flew it! Wow! Go Mike!
Percussionist Scott Vomvolakis Scott is an amazingly accomplished percussionist who has backed up Aretha Franklin (among many others), and rubbed elbows with the likes of Jerry Garcia, Clint Eastwood and Lynn Redgrave. And he's right in our back yard! There is no place like home, Toto. (Did he play with Toto, too? Probably!)

Steve Arbuckle Check that crazy Zen Dadio jazzified beatman, Steve Arbuckle. Steve and his band play the awesome "Muse" (check the site for dates). Stay coolly cool boy!
Rodney Hoffman Professor, scientist, activist -- Rodney works at the cutting edge. Another Montecito Heights citizen goes out and changes the world.
Donnette Thayer's Shelter Your humble original webmistress submits her site.

Don't be shy! Please send me your URL and I'll link it up right away!

Want help creating a home page of your very own?
E-mail me and I'll be glad to help. If you live or work in Montecito Heights, we can set you up with a page of your own on montecitohts.org. Just tell me what you want in there, and I'll put it right up! (within certain guidelines, of course).

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