The U.S. Forest Service faces litigation after it failed to provide public documents about a fire mitigation project proposal that would impact more than 235,000 acres of land in Santa Barbara, SLO, and Ventura counties. Los Padres ForestWatch Director of Conservation and Research Bryant Baker said the agency missed several deadlines to turn the information […]
Taylor O'Connor
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Supervisors propose temporary housing on county property in Santa Maria to address the homelessness crisis
There never seems to be a perfect place for a homeless shelter, Santa Barbara County 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said. “There’s no golden choice, it’s not one [location] is better than the other, but I can’t live with the status quo,” Lavagnino told the Sun in February. More recently, Lavagnino said he felt like […]
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More adoption needed with overcrowding concerns at Animal Services
Calls for adoption and fostering rang out from Santa Barbara County Animal Services after its kennels recently reached capacity. “We see an increase in adoptions and fostering as well as people bringing in surrenders because the holidays bring many things for many people,” said Sarah Aguilar, the director of Animal Services. “The holidays may bring […]
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Santa Maria teens are invited to help paint the city’s next mural
Young artists in Santa Maria will have the chance to dip their paintbrushes and leave their mark on the community as the city seeks help from its youth to work on a new mural that will be displayed at the city’s civic center. “We really hope the teens take the opportunity to learn not just […]
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Santa Barbara County certifies election results
There are no more ballots to count, no more campaign flyers filling mailboxes, and no more candidate debates being held as the Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder’s Office certified the 2022 election on Dec. 7, allowing the new or returning elected officials to step into their roles. In Santa Maria, Gloria Soto—the incumbent for the City […]
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Santa Barbara County Fire received a $144,000 grant to support mental health services, but firefighters and nonprofit leaders worry about the program’s sustainability
Sam Dudley replayed the Montecito debris flow over and over in his head driving to and from work for months after the 2018 disaster. “A lot of things really stacked up that made that experience really hard,” the Santa Barbara County firefighter said. “Finding children severely injured, and specifically we found one child deceased. That […]
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The county Public Defender’s Office needs sleeping bags, warm clothes for its annual Sleeping Bag Drive
Hypothermia kills about 700 people experiencing homelessness in the United States annually, according to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. This year, Santa Barbara County counted more than 1,900 people who were homeless during its Point-in-Time Count. Although specific data about homeless, weather-related mortalities couldn’t be verified, Erica Bottorff—a holistic defense advocate at […]
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County OKs first community workforce agreement
In an effort to hire more community members for large construction projects and set terms and conditions for project owners, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 (with 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson and 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino dissenting) to pass a Countywide community workforce agreement during a Dec. 2 special meeting. […]
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County supervisors ease child care facility requirements
New child care operators will have an easier time beginning their programs as the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed amendments to revise permit requirements and standards for facilities. “This will afford operators of day care centers greater flexibility and options for running day care centers,” a staff report said. Now, small day […]
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County supervisors move forward with farmworker resource center grant
More than 20 farmworker families and advocacy groups demonstrated their support for a new farmworker resource center by sharing the challenges they face during the Nov. 29 Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting. The community members came forward as supervisors discussed applying for a new $833,000 state grant to create a resource center that […]
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New state program to fund housing navigation, medical services raises vacancy and start-up concerns
Less than 2 percent of the homes in Santa Barbara County are vacant. This makes it extremely challenging to find rentals for anyone, especially those experiencing homelessness, said Sylvia Barnard with Good Samaritan Shelter. “We find that for anyone experiencing homelessness, it’s over 120 days to get into housing,” Barnard said. “Having the resources available […]
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The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County hosted its annual holiday food drive, but it needs more to keep up with demand
Until 2020, the Letter Carriers Food Drive—a drive that used the U.S. Postal Service to pick up nonperishable foods from residents’ homes—was a major source of big food donations for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. Letter carriers would deliver brown paper bags to people’s mailboxes and people would fill them up with nonperishable foods […]
