Spotlight

Steven Waiters wanted to be a writer ever since he was in high school. As he went through life, raising a family and teaching at the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, he never let that dream go.  “Writing has given me an outlet to do something different that I actually can bring into the classroom and […]

Forget making a trip to the veterinarian’s office—animal care organization C.A.R.E.4Paws is fundraising for a larger mobile vet clinic that’ll come to you.  The organization provides affordable veterinary services to low-income, senior, disabled, and homeless pet owners in Santa Barbara County. However, its recent expansion of services to SLO County in February 2022 and the […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Nikki Patterson had always been a huge animal person and knew one day she would work with animals full time. While she and her husband lived in Los Angeles, they had property in Buellton where they would vacation.  When the pandemic hit, the two found themselves remaining in Buellton and decided to make the move […]

Santa Maria recently gained its first two all-electric buses as part of an effort to fully electrify its fleet, which should be completed by early 2024.  The push toward a zero-emission public transportation system comes after a 2018 state mandate that requires all public entities to make this change by 2035, Transit Service Manager Gamaliel […]

In 2021, Welcome Home Military Heroes Founder Robert Tolan worked with Band of Brothers’ Founder Jeff Stone, creating a golf tournament in the span of five weeks.  “We had quite a bit of mistakes last year; none of us had ever played in a golf tournament. None of us had even really played golf,” Tolan […]

St. Joseph High School student Paige Beal said she always wants to seize her moment and be present in life.  “For me, I see so many people on electronics these days; some people close to me spend [a lot] of time on their electronics, and they regret it, and they say they wished they experienced […]

Marian Regional Medical Center’s Extended Care Center started with a few nuns and 10 patients who needed extra care after hospitalization. Now, the center serves 95 patients at a time and is celebrating its 35th anniversary, Jill Ledbetter said. The skilled nursing facility serves community members who need some assistance with daily tasks like bathing, […]

Kids learn about the water cycle, soil, and plants in their science classes at school, but there’s something about seeing it in real time that enhances the experience and understanding, Seth Wilmoth said.  Wilmoth is the education program director for Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG)—a Ventura County-born education nonprofit that teaches kids the importance […]

Small townships and rural settings like those in the Santa Ynez Valley used to have trails to connect the areas and make it easy for people to get around. As time went on, the trails in the valley became overgrown with trees and shrubs, or they intersected with private property, shifting communities to rely on […]