Spotlight

Rather than seeing pasta sauce, overnight oats, or untouched salad fixings go to waste, Marian Regional Medical Center, in partnership with Replate, will reallocate unused food to community organizations that serve individuals facing food insecurity, Marian Food Services Director Kevin Leitner told the Sun.  “This really was initiated by a [California] food recovery bill … […]

The Santa Maria Family Kite Festival is one of Jenn Malone’s favorite days of the year.  “There’s something about hundreds of kites in the air flying harmoniously at the same time. It’s a miracle they don’t get tangled, but I love the joy these kids are expressing [during] their fun and learning,” said Malone, the […]

Nancy Stearns was a longtime volunteer with NatureTrack, a K-12 program that helps kids experience the outdoors through field trips and accessibility programming, NatureTrack Founder Sue Eisaguirre told the Sun.  “She was a dedicated volunteer; she loved being out there with the kids and just getting them to use all of their senses. She would […]

 A man with dementia was reunited with his family after having been missing for an entire day, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.  “If you’ve had someone who’s gone missing or prone to confusion or wandering because of some sort of medical condition, [Project Lifesaver] would be a good thing to consider,” Sheriff’s […]

Virginia Perry Souza joined the league to better educate herself on elections and items on the ballot.  “I sat there as ignorant as a post and let everyone do the work, and therefore I didn’t learn or do anything, but now what I’m doing is important,” Souza told the Sun. “When I retired and my […]

Erika Terrazas participated in Partners in Education’s Job Readiness Training and Internship Program when she was in high school in 2010. And now, as the nonprofit’s program services manager, she’s recruiting professionals in Santa Maria to volunteer for the same job readiness program she did 14 years ago, she told the Sun.  “From experience, it’s […]

Beavers were once one of the most widely distributed mammals in North America, but unregulated trapping, habitat loss, and human-wildlife conflict changed all of that.  A growing recognition of the beavers’ role in ecosystem restoration and conservation efforts led California to start the beaver restoration project in 2023. Acknowledging the benefits beavers have on California’s […]

Santa Ynez Valley (SYV) Pride’s first fundraiser outside the month of June will help fund the nonprofit’s Pride parade and festival and its youth scholarship program.  The Love Above All Ball is a black-tie event on Feb. 17 from 5 to 9 p.m. at Vega Vineyard and Farm—9496 Santa Rosa Road—which features a silent auction, […]

One805 launched as a nonprofit supporting Santa Barbara County first responders after the 2017-18 Thomas Fire and 2018 Montecito mudslides.  “First responders are an essential part of our community, and part of our mission is to encourage people to understand that they need us to appreciate them and help them, and that it’s not an […]

Two Cal Poly engineering professors’ concern for preserving the environment for future generations sparked a trailblazing project with intentions to prevent widespread fires. Majid Poshtan and Joseph Callenes-Sloan—associate professors of electrical engineering and computer engineering, respectively—advanced a software program that can be attached to high-power transmission lines and detect fledgling local fires, their growth, and […]

Savie Health opened its doors in Lompoc almost two years ago as a free health care clinic that provides primary care for people without insurance. In that time, the clinic’s seen almost 900 patients who don’t have insurance, Savie Executive Director Eryn Shugart told the Sun.  To expand its services, Savie partnered with Surgical Eye […]

The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Santa Barbara County served an estimated 509 children going through the court system in 2023, Executive Director Kim Colby Davis said. CASA becomes involved in a child’s life after the court and county social workers have decided that they need to intervene for the child’s safety and well-being. […]