Month: August 2025

Alissa Orozco

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Tony, GRAMMY, and Emmy Award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo will be receiving some local recognization from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival later this year.

The Wicked star will be honored with the Kirk Douglass Award For Excellence in Film during a formal black-tie event taking place on December 4th, 2025. The formal event acts as both an award tribute ceremony and a fundraiser for SBIFF’s educational programs.

Named after the American actor and filmmaker, the Kirk Douglass Award For Excellence in Film recognizes longtime cinema contributors – now entering its 18th year. The award praises actors who have had a major impact in the world of film, in front of the camera, behind, or both. 

Erivo has protrayed numerous notable characters during her career. She received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her portrayal of American singer Aretha Franklin, a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her role as Harriet Tubman, along with multiple nominations for her most recent role of Elphaba in Wicked.

“Cynthia Erivo is a singular talent whose depth, range, and fearless commitment to her craft embody the spirit of excellence my father championed throughout his life. It’s entirely fitting that she receives the Kirk Douglas Award, which celebrates bold artistry and enduring impact in film,” states Michael Douglas.

Erivo’s Wicked co-star Ariana Grande was honored with a Virtuosos Award during the 2025 Santa Barbara International Film Festival earlier this year.

Past honorees of the Kirk Douglass Award are Will Ferrell, Ryan Gosling, Michelle Yeoh, Martin Scorsese, Hugh Jackman, Dame Judi Dench, Warren Beatty, Jane Fonda, Jessica Lange, Forest Whitaker, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Quentin Tarantino, Ed Harris, and John Travolta.

For more information on the event, visit the SBIFF.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Health Department says it is using all of its protocols and outreach to make sure required immunizations are given and to identify any gaps in the system.

This comes after a report from the County Grand Jury.

On May 29, the report came out entitled “Do Vaccination Rates in Santa Barbara County Create a Public Health Risk?”

It brought up issues related to the lack of County vaccination rate data for homeschooled children, adult populations and high-risk settings, including the Sheriff’s Department jail.

Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps  who sits as the chair said, “the Grand Jury did a great job of highlighting  potential vulnerabilities and we always need to be vigilante. I think that’s what they were trying to point out.”

A Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Health Director Dr. Mouhanad Hammami said for home schooled children, obtaining data is challenging. There is currently no reliable study. In place of that, the department created a worse-case scenario based on the number of home school children ages 5-17.  If there were an issue it would not be out of the range of the acceptable “herd immunity target” and could be addressed.

New requirements will help with the most accurate numbers. Hammami said, “any pediatrician,  anybody who gives a vaccine, is going to report it and this is how they are going to establish the rate.”

He said the department has a team that mobilizes whenever there is a concern over, for example, a measles outbreak.  They identify where it came from and who was exposed.  The plan has been effective when used in the past.

In the jail Dr. Hammami said at intake, a health care related process is conducted. The department’s response to the Grand Jury reads:  

The Sheriff’s Office has established protocols for isolating inmates who exhibit signs and symptoms of infectious disease. Isolating incarcerated persons solely because they are unvaccinated would potentially violate these individuals’ rights.

Where there are unvaccinated inmates the department is offering catch-up vaccinations in accordance with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and based on identified risk factors. 

Hammami said, “every now and then we see maybe a Covid outbreak or we see something that is not related to childhood immunizations.” He says there is a rapid response plan in place. “We have what is called an IDER,   Infectious Disease Emergency Response plan, which is countywide in case, God forbid, we have another outbreak or pandemic and these are all in place.”

Capps has a serious concern based on recent trends. “We’re living through a time in history where our federal government is dismantling our vaccination system so we have a lot to be concerned about.”

She believes in the effectiveness and reliability. “We live in the state of California where we have a strong vaccination system and we need those systems in place.”

(more details, photos and video will be added later today)

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Jarrod Zinn

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Governor Newsom’s Universal TK—or, Transitional Kindergarten—program may not be having the universal reach he intended.

Not all schools who teach Transitional Kindergarten are receiving this mandated state funding.

During the 2022-2023 school year, Governor Newsom’s statewide Universal TK program began its roll-out, providing additional state funding to schools with TK classes who met specific thresholds.

The goal for California’s Universal TK program was for full implementation by this year, but programs such as C.L. Smith Elementary School’s TK classes, which got their start before governor Newsom began the state program, unfortunately do not meet the specific requirements.

“With the new Universal TK plan, it included all four year olds, regardless of what date their birthday year was,” says Lisa Yamashita, assistant superintendent of educational services for San Luis Coastal Unified School District. “So we started with only six preschools across our system that turned into TKs. Now we have 16 different classrooms because that many more children are age eligible for the program.”

Assemblywoman Dawn Addis of San Luis Obispo county introduced legislation earlier this year to combat the issue and ensure universal TK funding for all schools in the state, a bill that at last report has stalled.

“TK is actually a money saver as well as good for kids and good for California,” says Assemblywoman Dawn Addis. “However, what we discovered is that we don’t actually universally fund a universal program.”

According to San Luis Coastal Unified School District, this is not localized to SLO county, and schools in Santa Barbara county and several more counties throughout the state are facing deficits as well as additional cuts necessary to compensate and continue to teach TK.

“Last school year, we reduced our staffing and saved on some other budgetary items about $4 million in our spending,” says Yamashita. “As we come into this next school year, we’re looking to cut about another $5 million in staffing and expenses to accommodate the additional program.”

Small, rural schools that are part of Basic Aid districts, paid for primarily by property taxes, do not get state funding. 

San Luis Coastal is one such district.

While Assemblywoman Addis’s bill was not able to pass the Appropriations Committee, she says she has not given up the fight, and will introduce legislation again next year.

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Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Now in its 12th year, the upcoming Day of Hope will have a little bit of a different spin when the popular cancer fundraiser is held next week.

On Saturday, Aug. 23, four days before the event is held, an inaugural car show will take place at Mission Hope Cancer Center in Santa Maria.

“For the past four years, since 2020, we have hosted a Day of Hope car parade,” said Jessa Brooks, Marian Regional Medical Center Foundation Vice President of Philanthropy. “This year instead, we are going to be doing a Day of Hope car show.”

While the car parade was an instant success when it was created, Brooks explained the change to a car show was made due a few different reasons.

“Not only did we receive inquiries from members of the public, recommending for us to do a car show, but also members of the community who wanted to participate, who work Monday through Friday found it challenging,” said Brooks. “Last but not least, our is our Day of Hope team is they sell newspapers between 7 a.m. and 12 noon. When we did the car parade, our teams were leaving their intersections around 10 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. to make it over to the fair park for the 11 a.m. car parade, so it wasn’t advantageous for the Day of Hope newspaper sales for the event and for the community volunteers. Having them do two events in one day was not ideal.”

Dignity Health describes the car show as family-friendly event featuring dozens of registered cars on display in the parking lot wrapping around Mission Hope.

In addition to the classic cars, there will also be sponsors, various activities, cancer resources and much more for the community to enjoy.

“There will also be a “touch a truck” section of our public events where members of the community can have the opportunity to take pictures of and to roam through Santa Maria Police Department vehicles, Santa Maria Fire Department vehicles, Cal Coast machinery, tractors, Rugged Radios trucks,” said Brooks. “There will be Santa Mark Park Rangers and American Medical Response, AMR. We will also have food trucks and kids activities. It should be a lot of fun for the day, and of course, the awards for the car show.”

The Day of Hope Car Show will be held Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be free to attend.

The Day of Hope was created in 2014 and specifically raises funds for patients at Mission Hope Cancer Center in Santa Maria and Arroyo Grande.

On Wednesday, Aug. 27, starting at 7 a.m., hundreds of volunteers will be located throughout the Santa Maria Valley and in South San Luis Obispo County at dozens street corners, intersections, parking lots, schools, churches and other highly visible locations.

Participating teams members will once again be selling special edition $1 Santa Maria Times newspapers.

“We have more than 80 teams participating for Day of Hope this year,” said Brooks. “Also, something that we’re really grateful for is we’ve had a number of businesses and restaurants step forward to support Day of Hope in unique ways, whether it’s donating a portion of sales on a particular day, or it is hosting their own team within their establishment. We’re really grateful to the community for supporting Day of Hope, in a really big way to support local cancer patients.

Proceeds specifically helps the cancer center provide patients with a myriad of complimentary programs and services.

For more information about the car show or the upcoming Day of Hope, click here to visit the official webpage.

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