Cover Story

As both a parent and guardian of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School (SYVUHS) graduates, Los Olivos resident Michelle de Werd always took a keen interest in the behind-the-scenes of the high school her daughter and niece attended.  “I was always really active at the school, and I started attending school board meetings,” de Werd […]

Every single person on the Central Coast has felt the impacts of the novel coronavirus and resulting stay-at-home orders attempting to prevent its spread. No one is immune, not just to COVID-19, but to the disruption of day-to-day routines. The pandemic has completely changed lives, at least temporarily, but it’s affected everyone just a little […]

In March 2019, Californians filed 160,384 new unemployment insurance claims, according to data from the United States Department of Labor. A year later that number was 739 percent higher—more than 1.3 million state residents filed for unemployment in March 2020.  Percentage-wise, Santa Barbara County saw a similar spike and then some. In March 2019, county […]

Community Partners in Caring lost 90 percent of its volunteers at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the nonprofit’s volunteers are older than 65, so when the stay-at-home orders went into place, those volunteers had to stay home.  But the people who Community Partners serves in Santa Barbara County still need the services […]

Incarcerated people are among those with the least agency in the United States. Some argue that this is a key part of serving justice. The punishment—confinement and everything else that comes with it—fits the crime. Others say prisoners should have more rights, advocating for felon enfranchisement or labor compensation.  “Inmates have a Ph.D. in what […]

While health care providers have a heightened focus on screening, testing, and treating people infected with COVID-19, there are people who doctors and nurses are treating for reasons not related to the virus.  For some patients who don’t want to risk catching or spreading the highly infectious virus during a visit to a clinic or […]

Just days before a Lompoc man shot and killed his 18-year-old girlfriend on March 25, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley called a meeting with her entire staff. She wanted to talk about one of her greatest concerns amid the spread of COVID-19: domestic violence. “I said, ‘We’ve got to focus on in-home crime,’” […]

Even before the days of stay-at-home orders and record-breaking numbers of unemployment applications, our nation struggled with domestic labor shortages in the agricultural sector. As American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall wrote during 2019’s mid-summer harvest season, “Farmers and ranchers in every state tell me that the shortage of labor is the greatest limiting factor […]

Editor’s note: Schools and school programs throughout the state—including the Central Coast’s environmental education programs—are closed as of March 13 in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the values behind these programs remain an asset for local teachers, schools, and children to look forward to once the programs resume. As of press time, […]

After years of working for various nonprofits and community organizations in Lompoc, Chuck Madson and Tim Harrington are tackling their most ambitious project yet. Madson—who has developed substance abuse treatment programs in Santa Barbara County for years—and Harrington—who has spent the latter years of his career mentoring college students and serving on the boards of […]

National volunteer-based nonprofit is bringing mental health services to Santa Maria BY ZAC EZZONE After their son was diagnosed with schizophrenia 25 years ago, George Kaufmann and his wife didn’t know where to turn for answers on how to help their son with his recovery or how to cope with the diagnosis themselves.   “Our […]