Posted inPet Issue

Blessed are the beaks: Central Coast-based parrot rescue provides adoption and sponsorship opportunities for local bird lovers

Parrot adoptions at the scenic Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary are few and far between for a flock of reasons, founder and director Jamie McLeod explained. “Unless you’ve owned a parrot before, it’s hard to understand what you’re getting yourself into. It’s a wild animal,” McLeod told the Sun. “You have to realize that when you […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

Best of NSBC 2025

Find out who won!

You’ve worked hard to get here. You’ve struggled, failed, and overcome. You’ve built your business through hard work, teamwork, and thankless work. And I’m here to tell you two things: First, it’s paid off. And second, this is just the beginning of your storied life as one of Northern Santa Barbara County’s best. So savor […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

Education Today 2025

Local nonprofits expand students’ garden-to-table education, county ed offices look at more than state assessments

Explore Ecology and One Cool Earth want students to take another look at vegetables, especially the bland yet divisive cauliflower. “Getting to grow it in the garden, it’s like this little baby that they get to check on every so often,” Explore Ecology Garden Program Director Genevieve Schwanbeck said. For our Education Today issue, Senior […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

Explore Ecology and One Cool Earth show Central Coast students the value of a garden-to-table lifestyle

Reading. Writing. Arithmetic. Cauliflower.  Alongside the three Rs, growing minds are learning the ins and outs of growing food at local schools with gardening programs like Explore Ecology. “I think one of my favorite things to grow with kids is cauliflower, which may sound like one of those vegetables that a lot of times they’ve […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

Central Coast county education offices look at metrics beyond the California Smarter Balanced assessment for student success

Ten years ago, a new computer-based test for California students replaced the paper-reliant standardizing testing and reporting program. Called the Smarter Balanced assessments, the tests measure third through eighth graders’ and 11th graders’ knowledge of the state’s English language arts and math standards. Students served by the Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO)—those who can’t […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

55 Fiction 2025

The winning stories from our annual 55 Fiction contest

Surprise! It’s the culmination of this year’s 55 Fiction contest! And much like the endings of the stories that people send us, the stories are always a shock—well not always, but mostly. We’ve got love, war, murder, politics, twists, and more for you in this year’s collection of printable pieces. Our judges sifted through hundreds […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

Feature: The Cal Poly Unicycle Club builds community, skills, and a passion for all things on one-wheel

The reverberation from a bicycle wheel hitting the pavement is constant. A vibration that moves from the bouncing rubber tire into the metal spokes. “These can take an absolute beating,” Cal Poly third-year Jacob Hinshaw says as yet another unicycle hits the basketball court in front of the Sierra Madre dorms and a student jumps […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

Get Outside – Summer/Fall 2025

The Central Coast Guide to Everything Outside

 Most sports have their own ecosystems built around them: teams, tournaments, talent, training programs, and gear, lots of gear. Unicycling is a little bit different. It’s looser, more accommodating, and welcoming to all. It takes just as much athleticism and grit as any other sport might, but most of the students who joined Cal Poly’s […]

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