News Roundup

April 17, 2020

Summer Solstice Celebration Will Only Be Online This Year

Other local news: I Madonnari Street Painting Festival canceled; now 354 Covid-19 cases and a third death; Santa Barbara's grim economic future; Southern California no longer abnormally dry; council member supports temporary city council pay cut; My Gym has closed.

April 15, 2020

Santa Barbara County to Follow the State’s Reopening Plan

Other local news: There are now 334 Covid-19 cases; profile of Public Health director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso; blood banks need donations; surfing could be risky these days; city to put the homeless up in a hotel; Board of Supervisors chair Gregg Hart to answer your Covid-19 questions; as many as 456 students lack Wi-Fi access.

April 14, 2020

Local Wineries Donate 500 Cases of Wine to Hospital Workers

Other local news: The number of Covid-19 hospitalizations appears to be flattening out; portable toilets for the homeless installed downtown; Alaska Airlines combining Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo on its Seattle flight; Isla Vista library innovations; tree of the month.

April 12, 2020

Glut of Local Applications for the Federal Payroll Protection Plan

Other local news: Four new Covid-19 cases; seventh County Sheriff employee tests positive; Santa Barbara man's account of his illness; county budget workshop; checking in with the zoo.

April 10, 2020

World’s Dimmest Thieves Try to Rob the Police Department

Other local news: North County Covid-19 cases outpacing South County; Bucket Brigade mask contest; city threatens to close beaches this weekend; two set designers' neat midcentury home; online Santa Barbara music festival; Planning Commission questions large new cannabis operation.

April 8, 2020

Models Show Covid-19 Pushing Hospitals Over Capacity

Other local news: 218 confirmed cases in Santa Barbara County; turnaround time for testing has improved; dire drop in city revenue; schools staying closed through the academic year; Zoomers to Boomers growing nationally; what life is like now for supermarket workers.

April 6, 2020

South County Resident Is the Second to Die of Covid-19

Other local news: 174 confirmed cases as of Sunday afternoon; county appears to have more cases than comparable counties, but the lack of testing clouds the issue; could coastal winds carry the virus far?; the history of the 1930s Lutah Maria Riggs house at 818 Hot Springs Road.

April 5, 2020

Naked Man Rescued from Inside a Storm Drain

Other local news: Public Health director expects a mid-May Covid-19 surge; childcare for frontline workers; the history of Quarantina Street; state to house homeless in hotels; CARES Act snags; gun sales soar; bookstores are open; fashion entrepreneur expands Montecito estate.

April 3, 2020

California Sent Cottage Health 200,000 Unusable N95 Masks

Other local news: There are now 139 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including three more police officers; rapid testing finally available here, to a limited degree; city basketball courts and park picnic sites closed; marvelous Tecolote Bookshop is open.

April 2, 2020

First Covid-19 Death in Santa Barbara County

And the total number of cases is now 111. Other local news: When the pandemic might peak here; Isla Vista closing beaches to discourage the annual Deltopia party; some property tax late penalties to be canceled; Ventura might close its public boat ramp; helping local dogs.