Los comunicados de prensa se publican en Independent.com as como un servicio comunitario gratuito. SANTA BARBARA, CA – 24 de abril de 2024 El Departamento de Parques y Actividades Recreativas de la Ciudad de Santa Bárbara solicita la opinión del público para un futuro proyecto en el emplazamiento de la Casa Franceschi dentro del Parque Franceschi. Tras múltiples intentos de restaurar el edificio desde 1971, el Ayuntamiento votó por unanimidad en 2018 sustituir la Casa Franceschi por una estructura al aire libre que honrara el legado del edificio y de sus anteriores propietarios, el b ..read more

Santa Barbara man Andrew Raymond Burgher, 34, pleaded guilty to two counts of 2nd degree murder for his role in a fatal DUI crash on Cathedral Oaks Road in 2021, according to an announcement by District Attorney John Savrnoch on Wednesday. The charges stem from the evening of October 26, 2021, when Burgher was driving his Toyota 4-Runner while under the influence, speeding in the direction of Santa Barbara on Cathedral Oaks between Fairview and Patterson, when he crashed into a 2002 Mustang sedan. The Mustang sedan spun from the collision, hitting two parked cars. The Mustang’s driver, 40 ..read more

Lucilla Cano always wanted to be a nurse. But working three jobs to support her kids, it was difficult to take the time necessary to work toward that goal. That all changed when she enrolled in the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program, which gave her the space and guidance she needed to go to school, earn her nursing degree, and make a better life for her and her family. “It makes me want to tear up talking about it,” Cano said. “All the hard work, every single obstacle, and all of the ‘I can’t do this’ — it’s rewarded immediately.” Cano graduated fr ..read more

The race is on for open seats on Goleta’s City Council, with current Mayor Paula Perotte announcing on Monday that she will be on the ballot this November. She is challenged by Rich Foster, who supported her mayoral bid four years ago and often speaks at city meetings in favor of trees and in opposition to development. Also on the ballot will be candidates for districts 3 and 4, which form the western half of the city. Perotte’s announcement is a bit early, as election season does not officially begin until July 15 and runs through August 9. That’s when candidates file signatures that are veri ..read more

In the bankruptcy of the Santa Barbara News-Press, much hinges on the ownership of the company’s two buildings: 715 Anacapa Street downtown and 725 South Kellogg Avenue in Goleta, which were assessed in 2000 at $27.5 million. When the daily paper’s parent company, Ampersand Publishing LLC, went into Chapter 7 last July, it declared it had $116,000 in assets and $5 million in liabilities. The two buildings had been transferred by owner Wendy McCaw to herself in 2014 through two separate LLCs, a transfer that was to be heard at the bankruptcy court on Wednesday morning. Judge Ronald Cliffor ..read more

Our Indy intern Chloe Shanfeld has helped us explore the art and culture world of Santa Barbara, diving into local entertainment. Not only does Shanfeld cover the arts, but she also enjoys making art herself. When did you start your internship at the Independent? What has been your favorite story to work on so far? I started working for the Indy in the fall of 2023 in the Arts and Entertainment section. My favorite story to work on so far has been my feature on the band Poolside. They are one of my favorite bands, and I had a lot of fun interviewing the front man, Jeffrey Paradise, and getting ..read more

Three new wind farms in the waters north of Santa Barbara County have run into a few obstacles in their attempts to bring offshore wind to the Central Coast. On top of discussions with government agencies and the Northern Chumash tribe, the three developers face a lawsuit from two San Luis Obispo fisheries claiming that “best practices” are not being used in the process of approving and building off the coast of Morro Bay. The lawsuit was filed by the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization (MBCFO) and the Port San Luis Commercial Fishermen’s Association, who claim that the equipment use ..read more

Professional soccer will be featured at Harder Stadium this summer as Wrexham AFC will face Premier League side AFC Bournemouth in an all-British showdown on July 20 at Harder Stadium at UC Santa Barbara campus.  The Red Dragons and The Cherries will face off against one another for the first time since April of 2005, when both teams were in EFL League One.This match is the first of Wrexham AFC’s three North American matches this summer as part of their 2024 Wrex Coast Tour. This will be followed by the match with Chelsea FC on July 24 at Levi’s Stadium, in Santa Clara, and by a clash in ..read more

A long-awaited Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors hearing on cannabis odor control ended in a split vote this week, as three board members voted for more study, and two said they were frustrated by the delay. Dutch-made carbon filters, called “scrubbers,” have been shown to dramatically reduce the smell of cannabis in Carpinteria Valley greenhouses before it can escape into the outside air; but at $22,000 each and a recommended density of 10 per acre, they’re expensive. In addition, electrical upgrades for the scrubbers could cost tens of thousands of dollars more, a “potentially prohib ..read more

A UC Santa Barbara student reported she had escaped an attempted abduction on Saturday night at the Labyrinth, a small walking trail between Campus Point and the Manzanita dormitories, law enforcement officials reported. Students were alerted via email at 9:31 p.m. on April 20 that a crime was in progress and were advised to avoid the area. Ten minutes later, a second email identified the incident to be an attempted abduction. The suspect, also accused of attempted sexual assault during the incident, is described as a 5’ 6” Hispanic man of stocky build between 170 and 200 pounds. At the time ..read more