Pacific Pickle Works Births People’s Provisions
It’s been a quarter-century since Bradley Bennett started pickling vegetables as a hobby to give out as holiday treats, and more than a decade since his Pacific Pickle Works (PPW) started kicking out countless jars from a warehouse on Santa Barbara’s Eastside. His creatively named pickled veggies —...
Bubbles, Handcrafted: A Sparkling Tradition Takes Root in Santa Barbara County
Local Sparkling Wine Explodes in Popularity in California: Santa Barbara County Spotlight. Sparkling wine may have its historic roots in Champagne, but in Santa Barbara County, it’s taken on a life—and a sparkle—of its own. What began as a handful of winemakers experimenting with méthode champenoise has grown into a...
Rollover Traffic Collision on Highway 154 Backs Up Traffic Friday Morning
A two vehicle collision on Highway 154 has caused major traffic delays Friday morning, December 12, 2025. At 9:07 a.m., California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported a black SUV had rolled over and landed upside down on another vehicle. The crash took place on Highway 154 near San Marcos Road, just...
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Launches ‘Drive Sober’ Campaign Ahead of Holiday Travel
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is launching its “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement effort ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, with additional DUI patrols operating across the county. The campaign begins December 12 and continues through New Year’s Day, one of the...
UC Santa Barbara Police Rule Student’s Death an Accidental Fall; Family Disputes Conclusion
UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) student Elizabeth “Liz” Hamel’s death has been ruled an accidental fall by the UC Police Department (UCPD) following what the agency described as an exhaustive investigation. Hamel, an 18-year-old freshman from Bellevue, Washington, suffered critical injuries in a fall near San Rafael Hall...
The longest continuous Honky Tonk in California is still going strong in a Santa...
Jimmy and Karen’s dream of owning Maverick Saloon began many years ago on a weekend getaway. “I looked at that bar and said, ‘Babe — I want to own this place someday,’” Jimmy recalls. For them, the goal wasn’t to reinvent Maverick, but to honor its legacy. “We emphasized from the start that we did not want to change...
ICE Uses Santa Barbara City College Campus as Staging Ground
A convoy of vehicles, believed to be with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), used a Santa Barbara City College parking lot as a staging ground Thursday evening before taking a coordinated action in the nearby Westside neighborhood. SBCC representatives...
Oprah Winfrey Just Sold Part of Her Vast Montecito Estate for $17.2 Million
For many years, Oprah Winfrey’s home base has been her Promised Land estate, a roughly 66-acre compound in the coveted Hedgerow District of Montecito. Now word has it the media titan has quietly sold off a piece of her multi-structure property, specifically a historic Spanish Revival ranch on four acres she picked up...
Goleta Design Review Board Gives Green Light to MTD’s New Bus Facility
Goleta’s Design Review Board on Tuesday approved the proposed design for the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District’s plans to rebuild its Overpass Road facility. Project architect Will Todd came back to the Design Review Board for a preliminary final review after getting feedback from the board in a conceptual...
New 911 dispatch effort in Santa Barbara County could improve emergency response times
Santa Barbara County 911 dispatchers will now handle emergency calls in a new facility that has been years in the making. The Regional Fire Communications Center and expanded Emergency Operations Center are a beautiful, state-of-the-art complex. But more importantly, it’s part of a significant change in the way some...
