A fire has burned about 1,200 acres in Santa Barbara County canyons near the Gaviota coast. Overnight, the blaze was threatening homes and an Exxon Mobil refinery. About 3:21 p.m., the blaze, which authorities call the Sherpa Fire, broke out... (Continue reading)
An Orcutt mother convicted of child abduction will not have to serve jail times as punishment for her crime. The mother grabbed her two daughters and fled to Mexico after the children’s father was granted visitation rights. Michelle Christin Gibbs... (Continue reading)
A three-car crash in Santa Barbara County’s Windy Gap area sent one vehicle plunging off the road and five people to Cottage Hospital. In all, eight people suffered injuries in the crash, and five had to be extricated from vehicles.... (Continue reading)
A man adopted a two-year-old chihuahua named Floyd from the Santa Barbara County animal shelter, then killed the dog, animal rescue activists say. The chihuahua was kicked, strangled and possibly drowned, according to the Animal Rescue Team, a Santa Ynez... (Continue reading)
Just weeks after an arsonist burned down a home being built to house farm workers in Nipomo, a Santa Maria company is proposing building 30 houses to accommodate up to 600 farm workers. Unlike the Nipomo project, plans call for... (Continue reading)
A Santa Barbara County jury convicted two men of pimping a 16-year-old girl whom they advertised on Craigslist as a 20-year-old. The victim had sex with customers, as well as with both of the defendants. Humberto Carranza, 24, met the... (Continue reading)
A California state grand jury has indicted Plains All American Pipeline and one of its employees over last year’s oil spill in Santa Barbara County. The company announced the indictment in a press release Tuesday morning. The indictment contains a... (Continue reading)
By John Lindt, publisher of Sierra 2 the Sea During the past year, acreage dedicated to strawberries in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties is down 25 percent. Acreage dropped from 8,305 in 2015 to 7,100 acres in the... (Continue reading)
Goleta City Council Member Paula Perotte woke up Wednesday morning to find a black bear in her backyard. Perotte snapped a photo of the bear peering into her home as her dog stared back at the black, furry animal. The... (Continue reading)
Police have arrested a 19-year-old Southern California man for starting an apartment complex fire in Santa Maria last year that displaced 100 people and caused $1 million in damage. One person also had to be hospitalized after suffering burns due... (Continue reading)