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Founded in 1986, the Santa Barbara Independent is the leading source for news, arts & entertainment, and lifestyle coverage in the greater Santa Barbara area.
- 187articles · 30d
- 1+ day agolatest article
- Aug 16, 2026earliest in window
- 88%with images
- 299avg words
- Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Media 45
- News 32
- Politics 32
- Human Interest 28
- Arts & Entertainment 26
- Sensitive Subjects 25
- Social Life 21
- Politics2 19
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News
Man Arrested Following Felony Assault Incident Near Highway 101
1+ week, 2+ day ago (255+ words) Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man following a felony assault incident near a homeless encampment along Highway 101. On Thursday, September 3, 2026 at approximately 8:17 pm, deputies responded to the area near southbound Highway 101 and the Sheffield Drive on-ramp after receiving…...
California Democrats Race to Ban Electric Shock Gloves Before ICE Buys Them
1+ week, 6+ day ago (589+ words) Democrats Are Pushing a Last-Minute Bill to Ban Federal Agents from Using Electric Shock Gloves Following Reports That Immigration and Customs Enforcement Is Making Moves to Buy and Use Them Democratic California lawmakers are pushing a last-minute bill to ban…...
Orcutt Schools Threatened Twice in Same Week
1+ week, 6+ day ago (431+ words) Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office Recovers Explosive Devices from Juvenile's Home Days After Unrelated School Shooting Threat Schools in Orcutt, an unincorporated town in the Santa Maria Valley, faced two unrelated threats in the same week, one of which turned out…...
Santa Barbara Taking Baby Steps Toward Solving Sheriff’s Office Overtime Crisis
2+ week, 4+ day ago (447+ words) Glimmers of hope for reducing overtime costs at the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, a chronic problem that has ballooned into the county’s biggest budget controversy, were offered Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Parmlee said the county agreed…...
Santa Barbara Ends Flock Contract, Will Review Automated Camera Policy
2+ week, 5+ day ago (545+ words) City Will Delay Signing Contract with New Company to Allow Public Input on Surveillance Systems Following a wave of public pushback, the city of Santa Barbara will be reconsidering its policy on automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, opening up…...
Get the FLOCK Out of Here
3+ week, 2+ day ago (240+ words) Santa Barbara Should Scrap the Pole-Mounted Cameras In addition to Los Angeles, other California cities — El Cerrito, Santa Cruz, Oxnard, Bishop, Richmond, and Eureka — have cancelled or not renewed contracts with Flock. DeFlock maps are popping up on the Internet…...
City of Santa Barbara to End Contract with Flock Cameras
3+ week, 2+ day ago (296+ words) The city installed the Flock camera system in late 2023 as an “investigative tool to assist in solving crimes, locating stolen vehicles, identifying suspect vehicles, and enhancing public safety.” Since then, there have been widespread concerns about the cameras collecting and…...
Written Off: Men in Santa Barbara County Jail Learn to Tell Their Own Stories
3+ week, 4+ day ago (1815+ words) ‘Indy’ Reporter’s Journey Leading a Writing Group Inside a Men’s Unit at the County Jail Writing for a living has allowed me a certain level of freedom and gotten me to places I’d never imagined I’d find myself, from flying…...