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Santa BarbaraApplications Open for TVSB’s 805 Focus Nonprofit Program
Santa Barbara County nonprofits just got a major boost — TVSB is now taking applications for its 805 Focus program, and it's a genuine gift to our local do-gooder community. Each year, 30 organizations get time in a professional studio with a real production team, turning their missions into polished television stories that reach neighbors across the county. If you've ever volunteered, donated, or benefited from a local nonprofit, you know how much these groups pour into Santa Barbara — often without much spotlight. This program hands them the mic, literally. It's a chance for smaller organizations to tell their story the way the big guys do. Applications are open now, so if you know a nonprofit that deserves a bigger stage, nudge them to apply. Thanks to Noozhawk for keeping us posted on opportunities like this that strengthen our whole 805 community.
Santa BarbaraAnne Elyse Selzer of Santa Barbara, 1958-2026
Santa Barbara lost a longtime neighbor this month. Anne Elyse Selzer, who made her home on Portesuello Avenue, passed away Sept. 9 at 68. She was born in Vancouver in 1958 and came to Southern California with her parents and siblings before the family put down roots here. Sixty-eight years is a full life, but it still feels too soon for a community that treasures its longtime residents. The people who spend decades on the same street, who know the neighbors and the rhythms of the seasons, are part of what makes Santa Barbara feel like a town rather than just a postcard. Noozhawk shared the news, and we're thinking of Anne's family and friends. If you knew her, we'd love to hear your memories.
Santa BarbaraThe Recycled Show: ReFabrication Opens At The Community Arts Workshop
If you've wandered past the Community Arts Workshop lately, you know it's one of those spots that quietly keeps Santa Barbara's creative pulse beating. This Friday, The Recycled Show returns for its third year with ReFabrication, a night where local artists turn castoffs and salvaged materials into something worth lingering over. It's the kind of event that feels very 805 to me — equal parts ingenuity and thrift, with a healthy dose of community. CAW has become a real gathering place for makers on the Central Coast, and three years running says something about how much folks here show up for each other. The Independent flagged the 5-8pm Friday opening, so mark your calendar and swing by. Bring a friend, bring curiosity, and maybe leave a little more inspired to see the potential in things other people toss. Event details via The Santa Barbara Independent.
Santa BarbaraSome relief from the heat Monday, warming back up by the weekend
Good morning, Santa Barbara! If you've been hiding indoors with the AC cranked, today's your day to open the windows. KEYT News Channel 3-12 reports we're starting the week about 5-10 degrees below average for mid-September, which is basically a gift after the stretch of heat we've had. Expect those familiar coastal clouds each morning, with Tuesday bringing the thickest marine layer of the week. That's just another September day on the South Coast — June gloom arriving fashionably late. The cool-down comes courtesy of a low-pressure trough parked up near the Pacific Northwest, so enjoy it while it lasts. By the weekend, the warmth returns, so plan those beach walks, patio dinners, and morning hikes early. Fall may be on the calendar, but summer isn't quite done with us yet.
Santa BarbaraThe Home Page | A Little Cabin Fever
There's something about a cabin that speaks to the Central Coast soul — maybe it's the way big trees and good bones remind us of the slower pace we're lucky to live by. This week, the Santa Barbara Independent turned its Home Page column toward that very feeling, a little cabin fever that has nothing to do with being stuck inside and everything to do with dreaming about where we hang our hats. Whether you're in Santa Barbara proper, up the coast in Goleta, or tucked into the hills of Carpinteria, the idea of a place with character — and maybe a few neighbors closer than you'd expect — resonates. It's a reminder that our housing choices here are as much about lifestyle as they are about square footage. It's a warm, easy read for anyone who's ever driven past a little place under the oaks and wondered what it'd be like to live there. Worth a look, neighbors.
Santa Barbara2 Overnight Emergency Vet Hospitals for 1 County. Is That Enough?
If your dog swallows something scary at 2 a.m., South Santa Barbara County has exactly one place to go: Advanced Veterinary Specialists on Carrillo Street, open around the clock. The catch? AVS sometimes hits capacity and has to turn new patients away — which means the next option could be a long, stressful drive out of the county with a hurting pet in the back seat. Noozhawk reports that the entire county relies on just two overnight emergency vet hospitals, and that's a thin safety net for a region with so many of us who treat our animals like family. When a clinic is full, minutes matter, and the closest help may be far from home. It's worth asking whether the 805 needs more after-hours options — and worth knowing your backup plan before you ever need it. Save a number, know the route, and maybe thank the folks who staff those overnight shifts.
Santa BarbaraTom Modugno: Dr. Winchester’s Secret
Santa Barbara history buffs, Tom Modugno has another gem for us. You might remember Dr. Robert Winchester as one of early Santa Barbara's most respected citizens — the kind of man the town's elite looked up to. So you can imagine the shock when newspapers across the country suddenly accused him of smuggling opium and illegal aliens. It's a wild reminder that our sleepy coastal town has always had a few secrets buried under the Spanish tile and bougainvillea. Stories like this are why local history matters — they show us the messy, human side of the Santa Barbara we think we know. Big thanks to Noozhawk for digging into our past. Pour a cup of coffee, settle in, and enjoy this one — it's a good reminder that not everything in the 805 was ever as calm as it looks.
Santa BarbaraMark Patton: This Mom and Daughter Duo Went the Hall Title IX Yards in Basketball
Here's a feel-good one that hits close to home for anyone who grew up playing hoops in the 805. Jordyn Lilly, a former Bishop Diego basketball standout, is being inducted into the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Hall of Fame on Monday — and she's following in some very familiar footsteps. Her mom, Paula Charest Lilly, went in three years ago, making them the first mother-daughter duo ever enshrined together. It's a story that feels especially resonant here, where Title IX quietly reshaped what was possible for generations of local girls. Paula came out of Bishop's Class of 1978, back when opportunities for female athletes looked a whole lot different. Jordyn grew up in the world her mom helped open up. Noozhawk's Mark Patton tells it beautifully. If you've got a kid in youth sports — or you were one yourself — this one's worth a read. Congrats to the Lilly family, and go Cardinals.
Santa BarbaraCelebrities, Pros ‘Enter Danger Zone’ for Kenny Loggins’ Benefit Pickleball Event
Kenny Loggins could have picked any cause, but he picked the Unity Shoppe — and that says everything about how Santa Barbara does charity. Saturday's "Pickleball in the Danger Zone" at the Santa Barbara Municipal Courts turned our hometown legend's 1986 Top Gun anthem into three days of doubles, with celebrities and pro players trading volleys for a nonprofit that has quietly kept local families fed and housed for decades. What I love most is how perfectly 805 this is: world-class names, a beloved local institution, and a sport that's absolutely taken over our courts and driveways. You didn't need a ticket to feel the goodwill — just a walk past the municipal courts. Noozhawk had the story first, as usual. Here's hoping this becomes an annual tradition. Loggins may have told us to "play with the boys," but the real winners are the neighbors Unity Shoppe serves every week.
Santa BarbaraAlleged Trespasser Stabbed in Confrontation with Resident in Santa Barbara
A quiet Saturday night on the 600 block turned into something nobody wants to wake up to — an alleged trespasser, an intoxicated man, and a resident who felt compelled to defend his home. The intruder ended up in the hospital with stab wounds, and now both the resident and the man who entered his property are facing the kind of consequences that ripple through a neighborhood long after the flashing lights fade. Stories like this land differently here. Santa Barbara isn't a place where we expect violence on our own streets, and when it happens, it shakes our sense of safety. Noozhawk reported the 9-1-1 call came in around 10:30 p.m., and while the investigation is still unfolding, it's a reminder that even in our tight-knit community, residents sometimes face split-second decisions with no easy answers. Let's keep the people involved in our thoughts, look out for our neighbors, and let the police sort out what happened. If you see something off, call it in — that's what keeps the 805 the kind of place we're proud to call home.
Santa BarbaraSchool Board Forum on Tuesday the 29th
If you've got kids in Santa Barbara schools — or you just care about who's steering the district — clear your Tuesday evening. On September 29, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., the Coalition for Neighborhood Schools is hosting a forum for Santa Barbara Board of Education candidates at the Santa Barbara High School library. School board races don't always grab headlines, but these folks decide everything from classroom funding to campus closures, and the choices they make ripple through our neighborhoods for years. A candidate forum is one of the few chances to hear them answer real questions before you fill out your ballot. It's free, it's local, and it's exactly the kind of small-room democracy that shapes a town. The Santa Barbara Independent flagged the event, and we're happy to pass it along. See you in the library.
Santa BarbaraNewsom Signed 13 New Laws to Protect Kids from Technology. Will They Work?
Gov. Newsom just signed 13 new laws aimed at protecting kids from technology, and honestly, it's about time. The Santa Barbara Independent reports that even a decade ago, the horror stories behind these bills sounded like fiction — now they're reality for too many families here on the Central Coast. Whether it's social media algorithms, data harvesting, or screen addiction, our kids are growing up in a world none of us navigated. These laws could change what platforms can do and what parents can expect. But will they actually work? Enforcement is the big question. Worth a read, Santa Barbara. Our local kids deserve real protection, not just good headlines.
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