Local Politics · Santa Barbara County
The U.S. Department of Justice sent letters to 57 of California's 58 elected elections officers, including Santa Barbara County Registrar Joe Holland, demanding they purge allegedly noncitizen voters within 48 hours. Holland, who has been absent from the county Elections offices for over two years due to health challenges, did not respond to contact attempts by county supervisors or CEO Jana Petersen before the deadline passed. A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected the DOJ's emergency filing, with judges questioning both the reliability of the alleged noncitizen-voter numbers and federal authority over state election jurisdiction. The letter listed 180 specific names for Santa Barbara County, though those figures remain unverified.
Local Politics · Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County has selected Maria Gardner as the next director of its Department of Social Services, with a start date of Nov. 10 pending formal approval by the Board of Supervisors. Gardner brings approximately 30 years of experience with the department, having advanced from a frontline Child Welfare Services social worker to assistant director and most recently chief financial and administrative officer. She succeeds Daniel Nielson, who announced his retirement earlier this year after 13 years leading the county's largest public service agency through events including the Montecito Debris Flow and the COVID-19 response.
Crime · Lompoc, CA
At approximately 5:20 p.m. Monday, a vehicle struck a juvenile pedestrian at the intersection of North H Street and North Avenue in Lompoc and fled the scene, according to the Lompoc Police Department. Detectives used Flock Safety license plate reader cameras to identify the suspect vehicle; the driver, a 64-year-old Lompoc resident, admitted to the collision and was charged with hit and run. The juvenile pedestrian was not injured. About four hours later, police investigated a separate incident in which a 96-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle in the 2000 block of North H Street; that driver remained at the scene and cooperated. Police reminded drivers to remain alert for pedestrians and to stop and render aid following any collision.
