calcoastnews

Some residents of a South Coast apartment complex had a close call with disaster, when a malfunctioning wall heater led to a fire and explosion.

It happened at around 5:30 Thursday morning, on West Arrellaga Street in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from a second story apartment. 

Six additional coronavirus related deaths have been reported on the Central and South Coasts.  Ventura County reported five new deaths Friday, and Santa Barbara County one.  There have now been 228 deaths overall in the region related to the virus, with 115 in Ventura County, 92 in Santa Barbara County and 21 in San Luis Obispo County.

The Central and South Coasts added 586 new coronavirus cases Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Ventura County reported 368 additional cases, Santa Barbara County 148, and San Luis Obispo County 70.  There have been nearly 20,600 cases overall.  Most of those diagnosed with the virus in the region have already recovered.

Some people cleaning out a shed on the South Coast got a lot more than they bargained for, when some bomblike items they found turned out to be real military bombs.

The people were were taking out items from a shed on the 300 block of Ladera Street Saturday afernoon, when they found a half dozen items which looked like old military shells.  Some were the size of a wine bottle.

A South Coast college is getting a major grant to help low income and first generation students.

Oxnard College is getting $1.2 million dollars over five years to support its TRIO programs.  They are eight programs which provide at-risk students with a variety of support services.

The TRIO efforts are funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The deadline is approaching for some small businesses on the South Coast hard hit by coronavirus to seek help though a community relief fund.

The Santa Barbara Better Together Fund is providing grants for struggling businesses in Goleta.

A Ventura County man is headed to federal prison after admitting he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to get some business contracts with Los Angeles County.

Enrique Contreras of Newbury Park was sentenced to two years in state prison.  Prosecutors say he paid two Los Angeles County officials $600,000 to get contracts for his Antelope Valley based electrical company. 

The number of new coronavirus cases across the state, and on the Central and South Coasts continues to mushroom.

Some 12,800 new cases were reported statewide Wednesday.  In our region, 278 additional cases were documented, including 94 in Ventura County, 160 in Santa Barbara County, and 24 in San Luis Obispo County.

An internationally known event on the South Coast intended to help developing playwrights is going to take place this year in a much different form due to coronavirus. 

The Ojai Playwrights Conference is known for bringing together established and emerging playwrights in a project to develop new stage works.

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.