Santa Barbara County’s tally of tents and forts made of tarps and wooden planks in the Santa Ynez Riverbed is 85 fewer than seven months ago thanks to an ongoing cleanup initiative. In her role as the county’s encampment response coordination manager, Katherine Soto-Vasquez doesn’t often dwell on those stats during a typical work day, […]
Santa Barbara County
Posted inNews
Board of Supervisors delay decision to make layoffs in health and social services department
Santa Barbara County supervisors pushed making a decision on budget rebalancing plans for the Public Health and Social Services departments. The plans discussed at the Oct. 7 supervisors meeting would eliminate more than 175 positions across both departments effective in January. “We’ve been receiving a lot of frustration for a lack of information,” 2nd District […]
Posted inNews
LAFCO aims to increase sphere of influence engagement with cities
Of the eight incorporated cities in Santa Barbara County, six have expressed a desire to expand their respective spheres of influence, according to Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) Executive Officer Mike Prater. Guadalupe and Carpinteria are the two outliers, he told LAFCO commissioners during the board’s Oct. 2 meeting. Although LAFCO’s due for its next […]
Posted inNews
County responds to grand jury report on unpermitted food vending
As part of their duties in a recent Santa Barbara County grand jury investigation, jurors visited dozens of food trucks and carts across the region. Their observations of several state food safety code violations, combined with interviews of local health officials, inspired the jury’s verdict that the county needs to get a better handle on […]
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Federal changes disqualify 7,500 county residents from Medi-Cal at county clinics
New federal policy will prevent Santa Barbara County health care centers from providing services to certain immigrants with Medi-Cal starting next year. County clinics won’t see patients who Medi-Cal determines have “unsatisfactory immigration status” including undocumented individuals, most people with temporary status, and those with Deferred Action or Deferred Enforced Departure, according to the county. […]
Posted inOpinion
Shifting away from fossil fuels isn’t a good idea for the county or the state
Is phasing out fossil fuels a good or even feasible idea? This is a question that none of the so-called “experts” who want to stop this county and eventually the entire nation from using this readily available resource have considered. You know who they are, the “what if” folks that are well funded by the […]
Posted inNews
Board of Supervisors passes retail food fee adjustments by a split vote
The time it takes local food regulators to clear hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and other snack bar sales at Little League games is not reflected in the current costs of those inspections, according to Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services (EHS). The department recently pitched an update to the county’s retail food facility fee policy—untouched […]
Posted inNews
Rule-bender: One Buellton cannabis grower has paid about $2 million in penalties for air quality violations
In the span of two years, Central Coast Agriculture—a cannabis cultivator with facilities in Buellton and Lompoc—agreed to pay nearly $2 million for breaking state and local air quality laws. That sum doesn’t include two pending violations issued by Santa Barbara County’s Air Pollution Control District (APCD) in 2025 awaiting resolution, according to the agency, […]
