Santa Barbara County News

Five years ago, Lisa Cullen of Montecito Landscape asked what she could do to help the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County with its Holiday Food Drive, and the Foodbank Holiday Haulers was born.

Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Pat McElroy, left, and David Senior, fire technology director at Allan Hancock College, with the donated 1984 fire engine.

A homicide victim found in September in a drainage ditch in Nipomo was identified as a 26-year-old man from Guerrero, Mexico, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office said.

It's been dubbed both the World Series and Super Bowl of Rodeos, and on Saturday night, a Santa Barbara County cowboy won the third round of it in 3.6 seconds.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley announced today that 33 year-old Timothy McNally was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison having been convicted of murdering Gary Bent.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department investigators have determined that the cause of the structure fire that occurred at 3884 Cherry Hill Road in Santa Maria today was a result of an overloaded electrical circuit.

It claims he first promised her a promotion in exchange for sex, but demoted later her when she broke off the affair! Ewww! If that's accurate, that would be super gross and weird and illegal and, well, gross turn of events! So where does 50 Shades fit in? During their tryst, these two apparently role played Anastasia Steele & Christian Grey and ... (more)

The Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday approved more funding for the Freedom Warming Centers because they need to open overflow locations this winter.

Detectives are asking the public to help them identify a man suspected of robbing an Orcutt liquor store at gunpoint over the weekend.

The idea of Girl Up Initiative Uganda came to founders Kim Wolf and friend Monica Nyiraguhabwa last year as they walked through one of the many slums of Kampala, the largest city and the capital of Uganda.

Law enforcement across Santa Barbara County are gearing up to crack down on drunken driving this holiday season with extra checkpoints and saturation patrols in cities and unincorporated areas across the county.

Lonely Planet has named the Central Coast -- Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties -- its fourth top travel destination in the United States for 2014, behind Grand Rapids and Lake Michigan's Gold Coast, Yosemite National Park and Boston.

Former aide to Rep. Lois Capps is facing charges stemming from accident Friday night that critically injured Mallory Rae Dies, 27, of Santa Barbara Raymond Morua, in background, appeared before Judge Thomas Adams Tuesday for arraignment on felony DUI and hit-and-run charges stemming from an accident Friday night that critically injured Mallory Rae ... (more)

For the fifth year, Laguna Blanca's Middle and Upper School students joined together with giving spirits for their annual Holiday Gift Drive.

The 14th annual World of Pinot Noir , a two-day event celebrating that alluring wine grape, will be held Feb. 28 through March 1 at Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara Young Professionals Club has kicked off the holiday season with the much-anticipated news of its 2013 Young Professional of the Year nominees.

A former Santa Barbara County sheriff's detective charged with robbing a Cambria bank last month had gambled more than $340,000 at a local casino in the past year eight times more than his yearly income -- according to a court document.

The countdown to holiday celebrations is on, and many community members are in the midst of their shopping frenzy.

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal and leaders from county departments of Public Health , Social Services and Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services are hosting an informational meeting on the implementation of health-care reform.

Raymond Morua, seen here making a speech in 2012, has lost his job as an aide to Rep. Lois Capps after being charge with felony DUI and hit-and-run stemming from an accident Friday that critically injured a Santa Barbara woman.