Spotlight

In the past, health care practitioners advised patients with concussions to “rest and wait.” Now, research suggests this might not be the most effective approach after all.  According to Stacey Ritter, a certified athletic trainer and founder of Concussion Navigation Services, patients recover faster and more fully by participating in physical, cognitive, balance, and visual […]

 A little more than 70 students from Guadalupe go hiking somewhere in the local community every Wednesday.  As part of its after-school program, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center takes up to 80 children from Kermit McKenzie Intermediate School and Mary Buren Elementary School on hikes each week. According to Joey Nichols, Dunes Center director of education, […]

Enrollment in Allan Hancock College’s new classes in Guadalupe more than doubled in just one week, as word quickly spread about the chance to earn college credit closer to home.  The community college partnered with the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District to offer classes in Guadalupe, allowing local high school students the opportunity […]

Training a dog is 70 percent about teaching the human and 30 percent about teaching the canine, Ember Leash Dog Training owner Skylar McClellan said.  “It’s about consistency and bringing everybody together so that they are all being as consistent as possible with the way that they’re responding to their dog’s behaviors,” McClellan noted. “When […]

Before Santa Barbara County Deputy James Carovano reports for duty, he gets his partner ready for patrol by helping him put on his vest and opening the car door for him. His partner, Obi, is a 2-year-old German shepherd, trained in patrol, urban tracking, and narcotics detection. Carovano and Obi recently joined the Santa Barbara […]

California emergency rooms saw more than 21,000 visits related to opioid overdoses within the past year, according to the California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard.  On the Central Coast, Dignity Health’s Substance Use Navigators (SUN) program is attempting to combat the issue. At Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, Arroyo Grande Community Hospital, and French Hospital […]

After he relocated from Afghanistan to the Central Coast, Dr. Ahmad Nooristani was surprised by the lack of health care available for people without insurance. In an effort to change that, he founded the SLO Noor Foundation to offer free health care for the uninsured.  SLO Noor Foundation Practice Manager Barbara Alarcon said the company […]

There are emergencies where calling 911 isn’t possible.  “An example we had in 2021 was [a] passenger with a drunk driver,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick told the Sun. “They can’t just say, ‘Hey, this person is driving me down the San Marcos Pass and they’re drunk’ … situations where […]

Playing outside, practicing sports, riding bicycles, and hiking on trails are a few of the activities highlighted in artwork Santa Barbara County students submitted for the Air Pollution Control District’s inaugural art contest.  “It’s a way to bring awareness of the importance of clean air in our community and the progress we’ve made,” Air Pollution […]

More than 13 percent of students enrolled in Santa Barbara County K-12 schools are considered homeless, and more than 260 students were in foster care during the 2022-23 school year.  “In our county, the biggest issue that we face with our foster and homeless youth is that they are changing schools a lot, and so […]