Here's your local news at a glance for Monday, the 31st of August.
Good morning, Santa Barbara.
🏘️ Community
Santa Barbara Humane’s Santa Maria Campus features Felix, a 5 1/2-year-old male domestic shorthair ready for adoption.
He comes spayed, vaccinated + microchipped with a complimentary post-adoption exam and Hill’s Science Diet food, and visiting is open daily from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. except Wednesdays.
💼 Business
Domingo’s Café, a family-run restaurant in Old Town Goleta since 1986, remains a local favorite with its authentic Mexican dishes and deep community roots.
Owner Domingo Sifuentez was recently named Grand Marshal of the Holiday Parade, honoring decades of family service.
🎭 Culture
Families can meet Buddy the Dinosaur, the PBS KIDS character from Dinosaur Train, at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History's Prehistoric Forest exhibit on Sunday, Sept.
13 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Members can join the Donuts & Dinos breakfast from 9 to 10 a.m.
SBIFF’s AppleBox Free Family Films program will show all five Toy Story films on consecutive Saturdays at the new McHurley Film Center starting Oct.
17 and ending Nov. 14 with free popcorn and first-come seating; the series highlights the festival’s commitment to cultural programming in our community.
The Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara will open its 2026-27 season with a '60s concert at Presidio Chapel on Friday, Sept.
18 + the event marks the group’s tenth year of blending folk instruments with orchestral strings in a unique style.
🎓 Education
Carpinteria Children’s Project is adding four outdoor classrooms at its 5201 Eighth St campus to support bilingual, nature-based learning for preschoolers.
Two classrooms are complete and have been used for a week while the remaining two will be finished by year’s end as part of the ongoing Plant the Future buy-a-brick campaign (big reveal planned for January).
Lompoc Unified School District approved a partnership with Space Launch Delta 30 for third-grade beach field trips as a response to restricted access during Falcon 9 launches, with educators leading lessons on snowy plover habitats.
The $124,500 program, funded by Vandenberg + SpaceX, runs through June 2029.
New principals have been named at Santa Barbara Junior High, Santa Barbara Community Academy, and Harding University Partnership School as the school year starts today.
Valarie Labrentz, Bradley Brock, and Gabriel Sandoval will lead academic improvements (collaborating with teachers for student success).
🏛️ Government
Construction on Goleta’s new train depot is now expected to be substantially complete before year's end, city spokesperson Kelly Hoover said.
The building at 27 S. La Patera Lane will serve as a multimodal hub to boost transport and improve bus, bicycle, and pedestrian connections (nearly 9,000 sqft).
The city of Santa Barbara reported quarterly tax revenues for the period ended June 30: $8.1m from Bradley-Burns, $8.5m from Measure C and $4.1m from Measure I.
It also collected $4.7m in transient occupancy taxes in July — 9.7% above budget.
🏈 Sports
The Cate 8-man football team beat Villanova Prep 46-0 in their season opener on Saturday in Ojai, as quarterback Sam Lambiote rushed for a score and led the offense.
The Rams improved to 1-0 and will face Valley Christian Academy next Saturday at 6 p.m.
Local teams posted numerous sports results on Saturday, Aug.
29 — El Camino, Hancock, and UCSB led college contests while Dos Pueblos and Bishop Diego shined in high school football, volleyball, and water polo matches.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table will honor former coach Ben Howland and six other sports figures by inducting them into its Hall of Fame on Monday, Sept.
14 at Hatch Hall in Goleta, where a banquet will recognize his decades-long impact on local basketball through the Goleta Boys + Girls Club.
🎉 Santa Barbara Events
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