Spotlight

Going back to school.  Rental assistance.  Buying professional clothing.  These are some of the many ways people can use the Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness John Kovacs Scholarship: $2,500 awarded to individuals with lived experience of mental illness or substance use disorder who want to expand their learning opportunities or advance in life, […]

This election cycle, Lompoc has two City Council seats and the mayor’s seat up for grabs, and the Lompoc Unified School District has its second by-trustee area election this November.  To help keep residents informed and involved during election season, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Lompoc-Vandenberg branch received a $10,000 grant from the […]

Lompoc residents collectively read for more than 364,000 minutes this summer, quadrupling the number of minutes set in the library’s goal for its annual summer reading challenge.  “Lompoc is a great community, and the reading numbers far exceeded my expectations, which was amazing. We just kept passing our goal, so we changed it, and we […]

Julio Roman started his journey with LGBTQ-plus organizations as a client.  “I was looking for a safe space,” Roman said. “I was dealing with my feelings around being attracted to other guys, and this was a safe space to really be yourself. I was able to find a community of young men who looked like […]

Bike maps help bicyclists identify and navigate routes throughout their region and understand a route’s classification—from multi-use trails to bike lanes on the street. However, Santa Barbara County’s mapping system is outdated by more than a decade, said Lauren Bianchi Klemann, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.  “With roads and […]

Buellton Village Senior Apartments is ready to break ground after nearly a decade of delays.  The affordable housing development features 50 units dedicated to serving seniors and senior veterans, which was proposed by Ventura-based nonprofit affordable housing developer and services provider Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation, said Derrick Wada, Cabrillo’s director of real estate development.  “There […]

While July is coming to an end, and with it local Recreation and Parks Month celebrations, Recreation Services Manager Dennis Smitherman encourages residents to use Santa Maria’s parks and take advantage of its recreation and parks programming.  “Recreation and parks have such a huge impact on the community,” Smitherman said. “The first is [socializing] and […]

Since high schoolers often need volunteer hours in order to graduate, Youthwell provides resources to help connect teens and youth with nonprofit organizations that pique their interests while meeting their extracurricular requirements, Executive Director Rachael Steidl said.  “The idea is so that volunteering doesn’t become a checklist item. We know volunteering can improve stress and […]

With the first heatwave in what’s expected to be a scorching summer, Santa Barbara County officials and local nonprofits are taking action to keep residents safe from high temperatures.  Good Samaritan Shelter Director of Homeless Services Kirsten Cahoon told the Sun that the organization deployed its outreach teams on July 5 to provide unsheltered individuals […]

CALM President and CEO Alana Walczak traveled to Sacramento in May to receive the 2024 California Nonprofit of the Year award from Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) in recognition of the organization’s work throughout Santa Barbara County.  “It was a huge surprise for our CEO Alana Walczak to get the call from Hart that we […]

Since the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department’s beginning, it’s hosted a Fourth of July celebration for city residents.  While the festivities vary from year to year, it’s continued to be a great opportunity for families, neighbors, and friends to gather for a day of free, fun-filled events, Recreation Manager Stephanie Saucedo said. This year, […]

Two Santa Barbara County high schoolers took Santa Barbara Community Rowing’s Junior Racing Team to nationals for the first time, where the girls took seventh place in the United States, head coach Gracie Barbara told the Sun. “I was crying all weekend because I was so proud of them,” Barbara said. “To make it to […]