Registered nurses will now have a new opportunity to hone their skills with Lompoc Valley Medical Center’s (LVMC) recently announced Nurse Graduate Residency Program. The program launch comes at a time when nurses are critically needed across the country. “We’ve had variations of this in the past, but this is the first time that we’re […]
MALEA MARTIN
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The Vaccination Equity Project funded more than a dozen local organizations in their efforts to increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine
United Way of Santa Barbara County recently joined forces with the Bower Foundation, Cottage Health, and others to fund 13 local nonprofits that are each working to promote vaccine access and equity. Dubbed the Vaccination Equity Project, the United Way and its partner funders pooled $340,000 into one fund for local organizations to apply for. […]
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Restaurant Revitalization Fund helps provide financial relief for staffing challenges during post-shutdown business boom
Shawn Van Pelt, owner of Cool Hand Luke’s Steakhouse in Santa Maria, added 150 outdoor seats to his restaurant to accommodate pandemic restrictions this past year. Given the time and resources he poured into this addition, Van Pelt said he would like to keep filling these seats, especially with the economy opening up again. But […]
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Cancer screenings, a key part of preventing and curing the disease, saw a huge drop at the beginning of the pandemic
Between March and May of 2020, Sansum Clinic experienced more than a 90 percent drop in its colon cancer and breast cancer screenings. Dr. Fred Kass, medical oncologist and director at Sansum’s Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, said it was unlike anything he’d seen before. “I think this is really unique,” Kass said of the sudden drop […]
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North County lags behind South County in vaccination rates, and the county wants to change that
Cottage Health celebrated a major milestone on May 15 at its Goleta mass vaccination clinic: The site administered its 100,000th dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, about a quarter of the total doses put into arms so far in Santa Barbara County. As the county continues striving for herd immunity, Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg […]
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Santa Barbara County closes in on yellow tier as state aims to reopen
Santa Barbara County is nearing the yellow tier in the state’s reopening system, reporting some of the lowest COVID-19 metrics the region has seen for the entire pandemic. But it won’t matter starting on June 15, when the state plans to no longer use the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. “In order for us to […]
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Lompoc Fire Department needs funding to mitigate safety concerns, staffing gaps
The earthquake resistance of Fire Station 51 and dangerous diesel exhaust are among the top issues for the Lompoc Fire Department, which presented its budgetary needs alongside other city departments at a recent special meeting. Lompoc City Council reviewed and discussed the city’s 2021-23 biennial budget during the May 20 meeting. City Manager Jim Throop […]
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Community Partners in Caring provides transportation for seniors to get to their COVID-19 vaccine appointments
Community Partners in Caring, an organization committed to helping seniors and those with mobility issues, is on a mission to help the roughly 10,000 seniors in Santa Barbara County who haven’t gotten their COVID-19 shots yet. The organization has already driven more than 800 miles taking seniors to and from vaccination sites as part of […]
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Teachers in Santa Maria-Bonita School District protest expired contracts, instructional shifts
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part series on the Santa Maria-Bonita School District’s decision to not allow teachers to teach full novels in their classes. The first part, “For the love of reading,” is in our May 13 issue. In the late afternoon on May 12, Santa Maria-Bonita School District teachers began […]
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Local organization calls for unemployment benefits for undocumented Californians
Local immigrant worker advocates are calling on California to close the gap between unemployment benefits paid out to documented and undocumented individuals throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) is part of the Safety Net for All Coalition, which seeks to include undocumented workers in […]
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Local businesses must follow state mask guidelines, public health officials say, but not all are
Following the CDC’s May 13 announcement that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks, a few major food and department store chains said inoculated customers could ditch their face coverings. But in California, the mask rule remains in place until June 15, leading to some mixed signals from local chain stores. According to […]
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Young people have highest COVID case rates, lowest vaccination rates
Santa Barbara County anticipates opening up COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to community members aged 12 and older this week, as health officials report that the lowest vaccination rates and highest case rates are among young people in the county. While eight out of 10 community members 65 and older have received at least one dose of […]