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Jun 21, 2024 | 
independent.com | Margaux Lovely |Callie Fausey |Jean Yamamura |Josephine Trilling
The historic palm trees that for the past century had lined Refugio State Beach's shoreline are gone. The popular state beach on Santa Barbara County's Gaviota Coast was closed indefinitely in February following a winter of intense storms that battered the coastline. Efforts to repair a damaged culvert system began early this month, but plans to save the beach's historic palms - whose root system had become severely eroded - did not make the cut.
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Jun 21, 2024 | 
independent.com | Callie Fausey |Jean Yamamura |Josephine Trilling |Isabella Leonard
California congressmembers are working to turn down the volume and clear the air across the entire Pacific Coast. Last week, representatives Salud Carbajal and Jared Huffman introduced a bill for a new federal program to encourage shipping companies to voluntarily reduce their speeds to protect marine life and cut air pollution.
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Jun 18, 2024 | 
independent.com | Jean Yamamura |Josephine Trilling |Isabella Leonard |Jack Magargee
Review of Launch Expansion Postponed, 2,250-Room Project Moves Ahead at Site Once Destined for DormzillaThe spot where Munger Hall is not being built on the UC Santa Barbara campus, now destined for a traditional building containing 2,250 rooms and lots of windows, was approved for clearing by the state Coastal Commission on June 12.
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Jun 16, 2024 | 
independent.com | Josephine Trilling
A wildfire in 2020 was a pivotal moment for Analee Josselyn, a senior at Montecito's Westmont College and a climate change activist. The fire, started by thousands of lightning stikes, destroyed nearly 1,500 buildings and killed one person. Called the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, it reached her hometown in Santa Cruz, and Josselyn said the danger her community faced sparked her interest in climate change advocacy.
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Jun 6, 2024 | 
independent.com | Jean Yamamura |Isabella Leonard |Callie Fausey |Josephine Trilling
Though the hot springs in Montecito have existed since geologic time, they became a worldwide phenomenon during the pandemic when social media laid breadcrumbs to their exact location, past gated homes and up a rock-strewn trail. A dozen soaking pools and the occasional campfire ring testify to the hundreds of visitors who come day and night, facts that make homeowners who lived through the devastating Tea Fire in 2008 very nervous.
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Jun 5, 2024 | 
independent.com | Isabella Leonard |Callie Fausey |Josephine Trilling |Ryan Cruz
This Saturday, meet your next companion, your soulmate, and the newest addition to your family at the Dog Days of Summer Adoption Event on the 800 block of the State Street Promenade. June 8 from 1 to 3 p.m., three organizations - Cold Noses Warm Hearts, Le Woof Rescue, and Santa Barbara County Animal Services - will be appearing to share dog love from some future adoptees.
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May 31, 2024 | 
independent.com | Callie Fausey |Josephine Trilling |Ryan Cruz |Jean Yamamura
My sister firmly believes that "life cannot be ruined." It is a sentiment that may seem difficult to trust, especially while moving in and out of jail and battling addiction. But she did, and she still does, now that she has a stable job, her own house, and a growing family. Her time behind bars was difficult, but her life, sure as hell, was not ruined. I saw glimpses of her during the Santa Barbara Day Reporting Center's (DRC) graduation ceremony on Wednesday, May 29.
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May 30, 2024 | 
independent.com | Josephine Trilling |Ryan Cruz |Nick Welsh |Kat Sophia
Elizabeth Funk has one mission. It's to offer everyone in the Santa Barbara area a place to sleep indoors if they want one. How they do this, said Funk, the CEO of an organization called DignityMoves, is to calculate exactly how much it would cost to get everyone inside, and then fundraise from the community. "Because interim housing is relatively inexpensive compared to permanent housing, the private sector can step up and make a meaningful contribution," said Funk.
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May 22, 2024 | 
independent.com | Ryan Cruz |Nick Welsh |Josephine Trilling |Jean Yamamura
Santa Barbara City Council continued its review of the Fiscal Year 2025 recommended budget on Tuesday, hearing details on the overall costs and revenues for the city's enterprise budgets - including the airport, waterfront, and downtown parking fund.
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May 22, 2024 | 
independent.com | Nick Welsh |Josephine Trilling |Jean Yamamura |Jack Magargee
If Kelly McAdoo was alarmed by news that four underground storage tanks had just accidentally been unearthed by city work crews three feet underground during a routine sidewalk inspection by Chapala and Carrillo streets, she wasn't showing it. McAdoo is Santa Barbara's newest city administrator, and Monday was her first day on the job. Underground storage tanks are never good news. Even under the most benign of circumstances, they're costly and cumbersome to clean up.
