PHOTO! Here is a picture of Orpah’s Montecito Mansion, a stunning home north of Los Angeles. Oprah’s Montecito Santa Barbara home is among the reasons for her end for her 25 year run says some insiders. As LALATE has been reporting for weeks, corporate offices for OWN, Oprah’s cable channel, have opened in Los Angeles, not Chicago.

Oprah adores her Montecito home and according to reports dislikes her inability to enjoy it more often. Winfrey recently told her staff, claims NY Mag, “I have a .. [home] in Montecito that I haven’t been able to enjoy.”

In November 2008, Oprah’s Montecito home was threatened by the spreading Santa Barbara fires. Over 100 homes near Oprah were lost, 1000 people evacuated, 13 injured, and 3,000 acres burned.

Montecito is home to the mega rich that includes residents Michael Douglas and Rob Lowe among the celebrities. The area is predominately Spanish colonial homes. Winfrey’s home is 42 acres. Oprah’s home was confirmed fine, along with homes with the above celebrities.

Oprah issued the following letter to staff this week:

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Over the past several weeks, my team and I have had conversations with many of you to help address your questions about the future of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Of course, the one question we couldn’t answer was the one that only Oprah could. And tomorrow, she will do just that.

But before she speaks to her loyal viewers, we wanted to share her decision first with you – our valued partners for more than two decades.

Tomorrow, Oprah will announce live on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that she has decided to end what is arguably one of the most popular, influential and enduring programs in television history. The sun will set on the “Oprah” show as its 25th season draws to a close on September 9, 2011.

We welcome you to share this news this evening with your colleagues and viewers. As we all know, Oprah’s personal comments about this on tomorrow’s live show will mark an historic television moment that we will all be talking about for years to come.

We want to thank you for the partnership and friendship we have shared over the years. Your invaluable support has helped us to create the phenomenon of the “Oprah Show” that we’ve all been so proud to be a part of for the last 24 years. My staff and I will be calling all of you directly tonight and tomorrow. We look forward to speaking with you.

And, if you think the last quarter century has been something, then “don’t touch that dial” as together we plan to make history in the next 20 months…and beyond.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Bennett
President, Harpo, Inc.