VENTURA — The 40th Annual California Strawberry Festival is seeking corporate sponsors. The festival is set for May 16 and 17 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
The family-friendly nonprofit festival draws more than 40,000 visitors from across Southern California, including attendees from Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, Kern, Santa Barbara and Orange counties.
Awarded by EconAlliance, Santa Barbara County 3rd District Supervisor Joan Hartmann presented People’s Self-Help Housing with the 2026 Northern Santa Barbara County Impact Award. Recognizing organizations providing extraordinary support in the community, it was accepted by current CEO & President Ken Trigueiro who was joined by former CEO & President John Fowler.
CAMARILLO — Gold Coast Health Plan (GCHP) (on Jan. 22) announced it has earned Health Plan Accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality.
NCQA Health Plan Accreditation is a widely recognized, evidence-based program dedicated to quality improvement and measurement. It provides a comprehensive framework for organizations to align and improve operations in areas that are most important to states, employers and consumers. It’s the only evaluation program that bases results on actual measurement of clinical performance (HEDIS® measures) and consumer experience (CAHPS® measures).
SANTA BARBARA & GOLETA — Organic Soup Kitchen is asking the community to step in during a critical moment to help prevent nutrition gaps for low-income residents living with serious and chronic illness.
Over the past year, Organic Soup Kitchen partnered with a local health care provider to deliver medically tailored meals to individuals whose health depends on consistent, nourishing food. That partnership helped many people stabilize their health during periods of acute medical need.
Today, that same funding now typically supports meal access for about 12 weeks. While short-term nutrition intervention is an important part of medical care, many individuals living with cancer, autoimmune disease, and other chronic conditions need ongoing food support well beyond that window.
LOMPOC — Lompoc celebrates its culture, creativity, and history through a year-round lineup of festivals and events. From food-focused gatherings and historic home tours to arts festivals, aviation showcases, wine weekends, and living-history programs at La Purísima Mission, the city offers something for every interest and season. Here are some events to look forward to in 2026:
SANTA MARIA — Allan Hancock College welcomed thousands of students back to campus this week as spring 2026 classes began January 20 at the college’s Santa Maria campus and Lompoc Valley Center.
Both campuses were buzzing with activity as students arrived for the first week of the semester. More than 10,800 credit and noncredit students enrolled in spring classes at Hancock, a 7% increase from the 2025 spring semester.
“Our staff and faculty are excited welcome students to campus for spring classes,” said Hancock Superintendent/President Kevin G. Walthers, Ph.D. “Our students come to Hancock with big goals, and we are committed to providing the support, guidance, and resources they need to succeed from day one.”
he City of Santa Paula is pleased to announce the return of the Santa Paula Future Leaders Academy and invites residents and local businesses to apply for Cohort II. This nine-week civic leadership program is designed to educate and engage community members by providing an in-depth look at City government, operations, and local decision-making.
Building on the success of the inaugural cohort, the Academy offers participants a unique opportunity to connect directly with City leadership and staff while learning how municipal services are delivered and how policy decisions are made. The program aims to strengthen civic knowledge, promote transparency, and foster meaningful relationships between the City and the community it serves.
VENTURA — Island Packers, the official concessionaire to the Channel Islands, is now offering Winter Whale Watching Excursions for whale enthusiasts to witness the inspiring migration of Pacific Gray whales as they travel through the Santa Barbara Channel near Anacapa and Santa Cruz Island. February 15, 2026 is World Whale Day.
We invite you to join us for an opening reception celebrating Pages to Posters: The Visual Worlds of Simms Taback.
Friday, February 13
5:30 – 7:30 PM
Museum of Ventura County
100 E. Main Street, Ventura
Guests will enjoy an early look at original artworks, posters, and more, as the exhibition reveals how Taback’s distinctive visual language shaped educational materials, commercial design, and storytelling for generations.
OXNARD — Ventura County gathers in unity. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee of Ventura County invites you to the 40th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observance, held in person on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 in Oxnard.
Theme:
A Living Legacy: Cultivating Compassion and Justice in Ventura County
SANTA MARIA — A community-led action brought together grassroots organizers, rapid response volunteers, youth leaders, and musicians to stand in solidarity against ongoing immigration enforcement violence across the Central Coast during the ICE OUT 805 Solidarity Concert/March on Jan. 15, 2025 in Santa Maria, representatives of the 805UNDOCFUND reported on their Facebook page.
Led by those carrying a banner that read “ICE OUT OF CALIFORNIA” the protesters marched down the residential streets in Santa Maria calling for the end of ICE activities in the region.
Pre-applications available now at pshhc.org/BGA
Presolicitudes disponibles ahora en pshhc.org/BGA
SANTA BARBARA — Join ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! (Viva) for free community performances by Mariachi Reyna. The performances are part of Viva’s mission to make world-class performing arts accessible to students, families, and underserved communities throughout Santa Barbara County.
FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCES
Friday, January 16 | 7 PM Isla Vista Elementary
Saturday, January 17 | 7 PM | Guadalupe City Hall
Sunday, January 18 | 6 PM | Marjorie Luke Theatre
Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles®, the first all-female mariachi in the United States, is that they have paved the way for other female mariachi groups to exist at the professional level. Reyna, which was formed in 1994, has truly broken the stereotypes surrounding Mariachi music. In a musical landscape of songs that are often written by men, and for men, Reyna has created their own history.
As the year comes to a close, we want to pause and say thank you.
(2025) brought real challenges – and even in just the last few days, ICE has once again caused real fear and harm in our communities. Neighbors are showing up for one another with care, courage, and solidarity, reminding us that safety and resilience come from deep community organizing and connection.
This year you and your CAUSE staff, leaders, and coalition partners were able to meet this moment – showing up alongside families, tenants, farmworkers, and youth when it mattered most, while continuing to strengthen our organizing and shared values.
The next regular meeting of the
County Board of Supervisors is scheduled for
9 a.m. Tuesday, January 13, 2026
County Administration Building, Fourth Floor
105 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara
The public may participate virtually or in person at the County Board Hearing Room
in Santa Barbara or Santa Maria.
It’s 2026! I don’t know about you, but I was ready for 2025 to come to a close. Something about the end of the year always makes me a little antsy; and this year especially, as we step into something monumental here at Friendship Center: 2026 is our 50th anniversary year.
It’s incredible, and honestly a wee bit impossible, to imagine the thousands of people who have been reconnected to our community through our programs, the families who have found relief, and the moments of pure joy that mattered more than anyone could have known at the time. We aren’t taking this anniversary year as an opportunity to only look back, but rather as a chance to honor the love and care that built something lasting, something that continues to endure.
The beginning of a new year is the perfect time for something new! Throughout January, enjoy FREE admission for all at the Museum of Ventura County. Join us to explore, reflect, and connect.
Open Thursday to Sunday
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
100 East Main Street, Ventura
Free admission is made possible by the generous support of Bill and Elise Kearney.
Thank you from all of us at Friendship Center for an incredibly impactful 2025.
We look forward to celebrating 2026
(our 50th Anniversary Year!)
with you.
As we come to the close of 2025, I want to begin by saying thank you for being part of our community.
We were able to accomplish a lot of great things in 2025, including:
Assisting 265+ families in achieving or preserving homeownership
Providing 1,130+ individuals with free homeownership and financial education
Providing 515+ families with access to free financial coaching
Financing $15M+ in first mortgages for low- and moderate- income families for the purchase of safe and affordable homes
Awarding or facilitating $1.4M+ in down payment and closing cost assistance for low- and moderate- income families
VENTURA COUNTY — Nov. 15, 2025, was a rainy, dark night, especially since the power at the Four Points by Sheraton in Ventura was out. Guests arrived unaware of the power outage and ran from their cars into the hotel lobby to shelter from the rain, ready to warm up and enjoy the Ventura County Bar Association’s Awards Dinner, only to find a dark room with a small table staffed by a kind VCBA member and a tiny battery-operated light.
Attendees did not scare away, and spirits did not fall; everyone embraced the low-lit event, as it was still a grand celebration of Barbara Macri-Ortiz, who would be honored with the Ben E. Nordman Public Service Award.
In the past 4 days, nearly 3 out of every 4 kidnappings occurred in Santa Maria.This level of concentration cannot be explained away as “targeted enforcement.” It reflects systemic racial profiling, particularly against Latino and Indigenous migrant communities, including Mixtec and other Indigenous peoples.
This terror is not incidental — it is the intended outcome.
These actions undermine constitutional protections, violate due process, and impose collective punishment on entire communities. The psychological toll, trauma, chronic stress, fear, will last long after these raids end.
CENTRAL COAST — 805UndocuFund is urgently alerting the community to a devastating escalation in immigration enforcement activity across Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties over the past several days. These actions are causing profound harm to immigrant families, workers, and entire communities, with lasting consequences for public health, safety, and the regional economy.
Over the weekend alone, 805UndocuFund’s 805 Rapid Response Network alongside autonomous community patrol and defense groups SBResiste, and Carpinteria Sin Fronteras, documented 58 ICE kidnappings across the Central Coast:
• Saturday, December 27, 2025:
35 total — 33 in Santa Maria and 2 in San Luis Obispo
• Sunday, December 28, 2025:
23 total — 13 in Lompoc, 8 in Santa Maria, and 2 in Santa Barbara
• Monday, December 29, 2025, ICE continues operations in Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo, terrorizing residents, destabilizing workplaces, and leaving families in crisis.
