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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.
- 231articles · 30d
- 13+ hour agolatest article
- Aug 16, 2026earliest in window
- 90%with images
- 302avg words
- Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Media 55
- Politics 41
- Human Interest 37
- News 36
- Arts & Entertainment 35
- Sensitive Subjects 35
- Social Life 29
- Entertainment 24
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News
California Has One-Quarter Of All The Nation’s Death Sentences. Will Newsom Commute Them All?
1+ day, 7+ hour ago (776+ words) More Than 560 People Still Face Death Sentences in California, Despite a Longstanding Moratorium on Executions In 2019, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the state’s death penalty system a failure and issued an executive order halting executions. His order — and the sight…...
‘It’s Our Kids’: Solving Santa Barbara’s Sex Trafficking Problem
4+ day, 3+ hour ago (1726+ words) Local Organizations Work to Support Survivors and Protect Vulnerable Youth It is the early 2000s, and Alia Azariah is a runaway teen. Drawn to downtown Santa Barbara, Azariah gathers with other homeless youth among the shops and tourists. There, her friends…...
A Labor Day Question: Is Elon Musk Really Worse than Jay Gould?
4+ day, 10+ hour ago (429+ words) Today, the Top CEO Makes 281 Times More Than the Average Worker SURVIVAL OF THE RICHEST: History, it turns out, does not repeat itself. It stutters. Mark Twain did not say that. I did. It’s stuttering right now. Over Labor Day. Every…...
Gloria Steinem 1934–2026
4+ day, 12+ hour ago (645+ words) The Santa Barbara Independent We lost two of America’s most iconic women during the past weeks. First, Dolly Parton, whose unique blend of femininity, business acumen, and generosity modeled female economic independence when women’s financial autonomy was virtually nonexistent in…...
Santa Barbara Housing Authority Head Rob Fredericks Retiring
5+ day, 7+ hour ago (815+ words) After 10 Years at Helm of City’s Housing Authority, Fredericks Announces He’s Stepping Down at End of 2027 This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make…...
Vaccine Refusal: Decisions Have Consequences You May Not Have Considered
1+ week, 3+ day ago (400+ words) Measles, Mumps, Whooping Cough Are Back with a Vengeance Measles, mumps, whooping cough — diseases nearly eradicated by the widespread use of vaccines are now back with a vengeance without them. It’s been more than 20 years since my young son’s case…...
Santa Barbara Can’t Afford a $96 Million State Street Experiment
1+ week, 6+ day ago (492+ words) Multi-Year "Lock Down" Led to a Dysfunctional Public Right of Way With the City of Santa Barbara facing depleted reserves, persistent budget pressures, and an increasingly expensive vision for State Street, the City Council has a choice: Double down on…...
A People-First State Street Is a Powerful Housing Tool
1+ week, 6+ day ago (528+ words) From Its Original Four Traffic Lanes, Our Main Street Has Rebuilt Since 1966 to Be a Pedestrian-Oriented Shopping Street I strongly support adopting the Final State Street Master Plan, and I want to make two arguments that I think have been…...
School Sex Abuse Bill Going to Newsom. Will He Sign the ‘Hard-Won’ Compromise?
1+ week, 6+ day ago (408+ words) California Recently Lifted the Statute of Limitations On Child Sex Abuse Lawsuits, Leading to Many Cases Against Schools. A Bill Going to Gov. Gavin Newsom Would Raise the Standard for Evidence Schools and local governments facing crippling damages from lawsuits…...
'Indy' Interns and Me
3+ week, 2+ day ago (200+ words) Jean Yamamura Explains Our Internship System, and How She Started as a Proofreader Indy readers may have noticed names that appear in bylines for several weeks running and then vanish, only to be replaced by another new and interesting writer....