calcoastnews

A new Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report says coronavirus isn’t the only health crisis facing the county. It calls homelessness the county’s everyday epidemic. The new report says government agencies aren’t doing enough to deal with the crisis. 

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake which rocked the Sierra Nevada mountains Wednesday was felt across much of the state, including by some people on the Central and South Coasts.

The quake occurred at 10:40 a.m., with the epicenter about 11 miles southeast of Lone Pine.  No injuries were reported, but authorities say it triggered a landslide near a campground on Mt. Whitney.  There has been a string of small aftershocks.

Some people in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties are among those who reported feeling it.

There have been five additional coronavirus related deaths, and more than 300 new diagnosed coronavirus cases on the Central and South Coasts.

Three new deaths are linked to a coronavirus outbreak at a senior care facility in Santa Barbara County, bringing the total there to nine.  County health officials say the latest deaths at the Country Oaks Care Center in Santa Maria were all people in their 70’s.  Ventura County had one additional death, a person in their 90’s with preexisting health conditions.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases on the Central and South Coasts continues to grow, now topping the 4500 mark.  4559 cases have now been diagnosed in the region.

Santa Barbara County is at 2320 cases, up 67 from Thursday. 

Santa Barbara County Health officials say they are concerned, because there’s been an increase of 50 cases or more a day in the county for the last week. 

A group of community leaders on the South Coast is proposing to move a statue of a controversial historical and religious leader to a less prominent location.  Some people have been calling for the removal of the bronze statue of Father Junipero Serra in front of Ventura’s City Hall. 

The death toll has climbed to 23 on the Central and South Coasts from coronavirus.

Someone in Santa Barbara County in their 60’s with pre-existing health conditions is the latest victim of the virus.

The 23 deaths include 16 in Ventura County, six in Santa Barbara County and one in San Luis Obispo County.

Another Central Coast college has announced that its classes are going online for its summer session. Allan Hancock College released it summer course catalog online today. The Santa Maria based college is offering more than 90% of its summer classes remotely.

A South Coast transit district has made some major new operational changes to try to prevent the spread of coronavirus.  Ventura County’s Gold Coast Transit District now wants everyone riding its buses to wear face coverings.  Bus drivers, and other essential Gold Coast staff members are already wearing masks.

Authorities are trying to determine when led to a traffic accident in Ventura County which left three people dead.

Ventura County Sheriff's deputies and firefighters were called to the 200 block of Poindexter Avenue in Moorpark Avenue early Saturday morning by reports of a crash.

Mountain lions on the Central and South Coast could be getting new protection.  There’s a proposal to list Southern and Central California mountain lions as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act.