Stories from surrounding communities, closest first.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAThe secret is out. The owners of Secret Bao are bringing two new concepts to the former Bluewater Grill spot on the Santa Barbara waterfront next year. The takeover of the beachfront spot does not mean the popular Asian fusion restaurant is relocating from 1201 Anacapa St., despite online rumors, co-owner Felicia Medina told Noozhawk. Instead, the waterfront restaurant at 15 E. Cabrillo Blvd. will feature a New American concept downstairs and a sushi bar upstairs, Medina said. “We are very excited, very anxious,” she said. The New American concept, to be named Alder, “like the wood,” will be Napa-style and serve up “elevated comfort food,” Medina said. The sushi handroll part of the restaurant will be called Nori Club and will feel like a “beach club vibe” with beachfront views. “It’s almost like a tucked-away hiding sushi bar upstairs,” Medina said. Medina and her husband and co-owner, Peter Lee, have hosted pop-ups for the new concepts intermittently.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CASteele Canyon brought some big arm swings to Santa Barbara High’s J.R. Richards Gym for Thursday’s CIF State Tournament South Regional Division 3 girls volleyball quarterfinal. The host Dons countered with an impressive blocking performance and took down the CIF-San Diego Section Division 3 champions in a 25-18, 26-24, 25-19 sweep to advance to the semifinals. Top-seeded Santa Barbara (28-11) will host No. 4 Helix High, the San Diego Section’s Division 2 runner-up, on Saturday at a time to be determined. The winner plays in the regional final on Tuesday, Nov. 17. The Dons’ front line players did a good job at containing Steele Canyon’s potent outside hitters Taylor Carpenter, Kate Ryan and Crisa Garcia and middle Tiana Baker. Middle blockers Lola Heckman and Jacqueline Durling, outsides Blake Saunders, Kira Elliott and Eloise Becker and setter Jules Horton got their hands on several attacks and scored points on blocked balls.
IdeaMensch · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAgrew up in Peoria, Illinois, a Midwestern kid who liked basketball more than almost anything else. He went to Richwoods High School, then headed east for college at Boston University. He stayed on for medical school at Boston University School of Medicine, a decision that set the direction for everything that came after. His training took him across the country. He did his radiology residency at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California, then completed a fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine. Early in his career, he worked with Advanced Diagnostics in Florida, reading cases and building the habits that would carry him through the rest of his career. Today, Max works with a number of regional hospitals across Texas, where he reads scans and helps physicians make sense of what they’re looking at. The work calls for steady attention, which he says comes easier when the rest of life is in balance.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAA new Santa Barbara ordinance will force massage establishments and therapists to pay more fees and comply with new requirements. The ordinance passed the City Council in a 5-1 vote on Tuesday, with Councilman Oscar Gutierrez voting against it and Councilman Mike Jordan recusing himself because his household includes a masseuse. Gutierrez said he feared it could be “weaponized” against businesses. “I just know that in the past there have been certain businesses when they got accused or faced with certain repercussions, they took it out on their competition,” Gutierrez said. “So I’m worried this will encourage that.” Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon said they tried to craft the ordinance in a way that gives them the enforcement tools to deal with bad actors and protect law-abiding establishments.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAFamilies from Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley spent Veterans Day morning picking green beans at Shepherd Giving Farm for Little Shepherds: A Grow and Give Morning, hosted by Veggie Rescue. The kids worked alongside Farmer Tom Shepherd gathering the veggies, then went along to deliver the bounty to people who could use them. Among those at the farm were Lucy Firestone and Katy Powers, co-board chairs of Freedom for Youth, one of the nonprofits to which Veggie Rescue delivers food. Also on hand were Mary Firestone with her daughter; Belle Hahn of Montecito; Veggie Rescue Board member Esther Kim Varet with husband Joseph and their children; and Veggie Rescue Board member Jamie Edlin. Following a short tour from Shepherd, the kids got to work picking about 100 pounds of green beans, the last of this year’s summer and fall crops.
Noozhawk · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CASpark Rescue Santa Barbara, a grassroots, no-kill rescue group, which since 2014 has placed thousands of animals in loving homes, is now searching for a permanent home of its own. Spark Rescue has operated without a shelter building and without paid staff. “Many of Spark’s dogs and cats are abandoned, left on the streets or given up by families who no longer want them, while others are pulled from overcrowded Southern California shelters,” the organization said. However, Spark’s foster network can no longer keep up with demand, its leaders said. “For two years, Spark has searched for land of its own, but AG-II properties, where a rescue can operate, are scarce in Santa Barbara County,” they said.
Santa Maria Sun · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAA proposal to remove a 365-acre parcel—with an assessed value of $13 million—from Santa Barbara County’s property tax rolls and land-use jurisdiction raised some red flags for the Board of Supervisors. In its Nov. 10 letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the board stated that it “does not intend to challenge” the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ recent application to place the San Carlos property into federal trust, before outlining the property tax revenue (approximately $142,000 annually) it would lose if approved. By designating the land into federal trust, the tribe would gain sovereignty to govern it. “The county deeply values its government-to-government relationship with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Over the past several years, the county, the tribe, and other local jurisdictions have worked side by side on projects that matter to everyone in the [Santa Ynez] Valley,” the letter stated. “That record of partnership rests on open communication.
Daily Nexus · Santa Barbara, CA
Nearby: Santa Barbara, CAThe United States midterm elections were held on Nov. 3 and included national, statewide and local elections, as well as a lengthy list of California propositions. UC Santa Barbara students reacted to results in a variety of ways, including celebration and frustration. Isabel Hicks, a third-year political science major, speaking on Proposition 40 failing, said, “[it] was kind of disappointing because I feel like that was [so] obvious that [it] should have passed.” Proposition 40 was a ballot measure that proposed a one-time 5% tax on individuals with over $1 billion in assets. California voters shot down the proposition, with 52.8% voting no.
Noozhawk · Carpinteria, CA
Nearby: Carpinteria, CAThe groups behind the 196-unit apartment complex proposed for a Carpinteria Valley parcel broke down the most recent project plans at a community meeting Tuesday night. The mixed income-restricted and market-rate project is set for 1101 and 1103 Bailard Ave., a seven-acre property located just outside the Carpinteria city limits. Currently on the site is a small farm. The proposal comes to the valley from the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara and Red Tail Multifamily. The Housing Authority, a nonprofit organization, currently houses 3,093 residents across 1,665 income-restricted units around the county. This project has been in the works for several years, but it has repeatedly drawn community pushback from city residents and the City Council concerned about the scale and scope of the development and impacts to the city. The parcel was originally owned by the Carpinteria Unified School District and zoned as single-family residential, with a small farm on the site.
Moorpark Acorn · Camarillo, CA
Nearby: Camarillo, CABIRD’S-EYE VIEW—Frank DeMartino, president of the Conejo Valley Audubon Society, scans the treetops for birds during an outing at Valle Lindo Park in Camarillo. SCOTT STEEPLETON/Acorn Newspapers Frank DeMartino is trying to have a conversation. Birds keep getting in the way. Strolling through Valle Lindo Park in Camarillo, the 46-year-old keeps eyes trained on the trees and an ear tuned to the chirps and calls coming from their branches. Yellow-rumped warblers, bluebirds and dark-eyed juncos are moving through the park. Somewhere in the distance, a persistent peep catches his attention. That’s a red-breasted nuthatch, he explains. For DeMartino, president of the Conejo Valley Audubon Society and compiler of the Ventura Christmas Bird Count, identifying birds is almost involuntary. “Once you get into this and do it enough, you can’t stop it, really. You can’t turn it off,” he said. That can make conversations outdoors a bit challenging.
Camarillo Acorn · Camarillo, CA
Nearby: Camarillo, CAThe opening of Camarillo’s new Costco on Oct. 30 marks a milestone for the city, but for local businesses, it need not be a moment of apprehension. After all, Costco is hardly a newcomer to the neighborhood. For decades, Camarillo residents have shopped at the Costco in neighboring Oxnard, a location that began life as a Price Club. Oxnard also has a Sam’s Club. In 2022, Camarillo estimated that 36,650 city residents had made nearly 387,000 visits to the Oxnard Costco during the preceding year. The new warehouse, less than five miles from its Oxnard counterpart, brings something residents already know and patronize closer to home. That distinction matters. When Walmart expanded into smaller American communities, independent merchants faced a difficult question: How could they compete against a retailer with enormous purchasing power and seemingly endless inventory? Some couldn’t. Others discovered that competing didn’t necessarily mean matching prices.
Camarillo Acorn · Camarillo, CA
Nearby: Camarillo, CAA closely contested City Council race remained unresolved this week as Ventura County election officials continued counting ballots from the Nov. 3 general election. At press time, challenger David Schlangen held a narrow lead over incumbent Martha “Martita” Martinez-Bravo in the District 5 contest, with just 43 votes separating the candidates in the first semifinal official results. According to the Ventura County Elections Division’s 4:39 a.m. Nov. 4 report, Schlangen received 1,886 votes, or 50.6%, compared with 1,843 votes, or 49.4%, for Martinez-Bravo. The margin could change as additional ballots are processed. Elsewhere, City Council incumbents David Tennessen and Susan Santangelo held leads in their reelection bids. Camarillo voters also selected representatives for the Pleasant Valley School District, Camarillo Health Care District and Ventura County Community College District.
