CARPINTERIA NOW
August 2: A south coast bus driver strike was averted at the last minute Thursday night. Talks between the drivers’ union and the Metropolitan Transit District had dragged on for months, leading to the possibility of a strike at midnight. But KCLU reports a deal was reached late in the day to keep the buses rolling and provide the drivers with better pay and job security. The agreement also results in a 45 day extension of negotiations to give drivers a chance to vote on the new contract.
August 1: A bear was seen at a local mobile home park Thursday, about a half-mile from where bear activity was detected two weeks ago. The Independent reports residents of the Rancho Granada mobile home park reported seeing the bear rummaging through trash cans during overnight hours and foraging near a nearby creek. Wildlife officials were quoted as saying it looks like the bear returned to open space behind the mobile home park. Anyone seeing a bear is encouraged to call Animal Control at (805) 755-4418.
In other news…
August 4: Train service north of Goleta has been suspended until August 16. Track upgrades and a bridge replacement will disrupt train travel between Goleta and San Luis Obispo for the next couple of weeks. The La Canada Honda Bridge is 127 years old, and Amtrak says replacing it will provide better track security and faster trips for the Surfliner and freight runs along the central and south coasts.
July 30: The Carpinteria City Council has set up a committee that will handle the city’s response to federal immigration raids. Noozhawk reports it’s an ad hoc committee with just two council members, Monica Solorzano and Julia Mayer, and they’re hitting the ground running with a list of priorities that include supporting local immigrant organizations, investigating local police when they interact with ICE agents, and supporting legislation to stop the often violent raids like the one in Carpinteria July 10.
July 29: Congressman Salud Carbal is co-sponsoring an immigration reform bill that’s long on enforcement and border security but short on stopping ICE raids. The Dignity Act of 2025 aims to reinforce those avenues that undocumented immigrants already use to gain citizenship, but doesn’t specifically mention anything about the Dept. of Homeland Security’s current wave of violent raids, during which many American citizens and legal immigrants have been detained and sent to other countries without due process. It’s unclear what the Dignity Act’s chances of passage will be in congress.
August 4 (6:50am): The Gifford Fire has burned more than 65,000 acres in a mostly unpopulated area east of Santa Maria. It is 3% contained according to CalFire. A long stretch of highway 166 reopened Sunday morning but it’s still blocked in both directions at highway 101. CalFire says the fire started Friday afternoon just before 4:00pm. The fire comes on the heels of the massive Madre Fire in the same area, which burned more than 80,000 and was just declared 100% contained last week.