News Roundup

January 13, 2022

Should This Block of State Street Be Closed to Cars?

Other recent news: Carpinterians will get to vote about the proposed Surfliner Inn; new candidates for the state assembly; UCSB will let professors decide whether to teach in person, while SBCC is going remote; vigilante trail closure; trapeze school likely to remain in Vera Cruz Park; Santa Barbara County moves forward on buying a Goleta motel for the homeless; UFOs appear to be drawn to the Channel Islands.

January 8, 2022

A New Chapter for the Santa Barbara Public Market

Other recent news: Ortega Park renovation is in limbo; did a YouTube personality intentionally crash a plane near New Cuyama?; Santa Barbara Unified School District makes Covid testing mandatory and pauses all extracurricular activities; company found financially liable for 2016 Sherpa Fire; old trolley tracks uncovered; two new ventures for Acme Hospitality; Gaviota's Dos Pueblos Ranch sells for $25.5 million.

January 4, 2022

Cottage Hospital Has Stopped Allowing Visitors Again

Other recent news: Mask mandate extended another month; Covid tests are in short supply; the Santa Barbara Arts shop in La Arcada Plaza is closing after 18 years; a profile of AutoCamp, the Santa Barbara–based chain of Airstream hotels; six people recently robbed Macy's; East Valley Road water main construction; the buyers of a Bali-inspired house in Montecito; a new 112-square-mile nature preserve.

December 24, 2021

15,000 Monarch Butterflies Have Returned to Goleta

Other recent news: Charlie Munger bought an $11 million house in Montecito; local TV personality accused of fraud; UCSB to start winter quarter online; more analysis of the county redistricting; buyer of Ellwood Ranch has no plans to develop it.

December 18, 2021

Cannabis Tax Revenue Continues to Decline

Other recent news: Upgraded security technology coming to the Santa Barbara airport; Montecito YMCA's new buildings face pushback; Laguna Blanca School has accepted more students than it's allowed to have; the many ways the proposed Munger Hall would affect the campus; Goleta looks at ways to temper the effects of the SB 9 housing bill; a gym has opened the former Sizzler space in Old Town Goleta.

December 14, 2021

Is Something Big Brewing at La Cumbre Plaza?

Other recent news: Record-breaking rainfall in Santa Barbara County; an updated storm impact consideration map was released; statewide indoor mask mandate; Santa Barbara moves toward regulating sidewalk vendors; work completed on a Summerland Beach oil well; decommissioning of Platform Holly has restarted. 5

December 9, 2021

Santa Barbara Airbus Has Changed Its Pickup Location

Other recent news: The county redistricting commission decided on a new map; magnitude 3.4 earthquake last night; Santa Barbara puts limits on new zoning law; Carpinteria Planning Commission approved a new multi-use path connecting Carpinteria Avenue and Santa Claus Lane; Santa Barbara city council voted to move rent cap forward; artist Ragnar Kjartansson is recreating the soap opera "Santa Barbara" for a Moscow museum. 2

December 4, 2021

Roller Skating and Laser Tag Are Coming to the Old Macy’s Store

Other recent news: Carpinteria city council approved the Surfliner Inn; Santa Barbara County extended its indoor mask mandate; false alarm about local Omicron cases; elected officials are said to be considering a vacancy tax; redistricting narrowed down to three maps; an interview with Jeff Shelton; eight former University of California architects call the proposed Munger Hall a "disaster in the making."

November 30, 2021

What It’s Like to Live in a Windowless Dorm

Other recent news: The county redistricting process continues; outgoing mayor proposes two-percent cap on rent increases; Garden Street apartment complex sent back to the drawing board; update on the Highway 101 wildlife corridor in Gaviota; Santa Barbara will have holiday events in lieu of a parade; the tree of the month is the windmill palm; "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl" creator sells in Hope Ranch.

November 20, 2021

Bellosguardo Released Specifics About Proposed Tours and Events

Other recent news: American Indian Health & Services makes progress on the old Army Reserve Center; Athleta opening date; preliminary maps for state redistricting; the Natural History Museum's Folk & Tribal Arts Marketplace is coming up; a new yoga studio in Goleta; Hitchcock Cinemas reopens next week; the Four Seasons hotel in New York City is said to be reopening, so maybe there's hope for the Biltmore.