Aside from the horrifying lead item in this week’s Best of Bill column, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis dominated the Top 5. It’s the first time in months that’s happened, but it reflects the pivotal period our community has entered with the frenzy of activity and expectations surrounding the vaccines.
In addition to our regular coverage of the coronavirus, Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli has been asking readers to send in their specific vaccine questions, and she and her team have been diligently answering them.
They’ve been doing that for more than two months, and it’s been an extremely popular and valuable service. I’d call it solutions journalism at its most basic form.
After Three-Year Closure, Rebuilt San Ysidro Creek Bridge Reopens to Bicyclists, Pedestrians
The Montecito structure features new materials and a higher elevation to allow more water to flow under it
Santa Barbara County residents, officials and local partners attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday to celebrate the reopening of the pedestrian and bicyclists bridge on East Mountain Drive over San Ysidro Creek in Montecito. (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo) By Brooke Holland, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @BT Holland
February 11, 2021
| 9:52 p.m.
After a closure of about three years, the rebuilt bridge on East Mountain Drive over San Ysidro Creek in Montecito has reopened to bicyclists and pedestrians accessing recreational trails in the area.
Volunteers, Staff Heed the Call to Help with COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts in Santa Barbara County
A drive-up clinic across from Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital is among the sites working to get the shots into people s arms
Volunteer Maeve Devoy speaks to a COVID-19 vaccine recipient at the outdoor vaccination clinic across from Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital on Thursday afternoon. (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo) By Brooke Holland, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @BT Holland | UPDATED 12:09 a.m.
February 6, 2021
| 9:12 p.m.
One by one, vehicles filled with COVID-19 vaccine recipients this past week rolled into a parking lot nestled between Hollister and South Patterson avenues in Goleta. Masked volunteers and staff were ready to work.
Housing and Development Newsletter
The online data dashboard notes that the number of deaths will change as additional cases are reported.
Deaths are reported when a death certificate is processed listing COVID-19 as a cause or a significant condition, according to the county Public Health Department. The process can take several days and up to two months to finalize if pending verification by the county Coroner’s Bureau, a division of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
Of the county’s 303 COVID-19-related deaths, 124 residents lived in Santa Maria, 55 in Santa Barbara, 27 in Lompoc, 20 in Goleta, 19 in Orcutt, 17 in the regions of the North County unincorporated area, 14 in the Santa Ynez Valley, 11 in the Montecito-Summerland-Carpinteria area, 10 in the unincorporated area of the Goleta Valley and Gaviota, four in the Lompoc federal prison complex, and one in Isla Vista. One death is pending the geographic area.
Housing and Development Newsletter
“The local public health department does not have oversight of this process,” county disaster preparedness manager Jan Koegler told Noozhawk via email. “As a supplement to this process, county public health has offered to vaccinate ASL (assisted-living facilities) workers and residents who can come to the vaccination PODs (points of distribution).”
At least 190 facilities in Santa Barbara County are enrolled in the federal pharmacy partnership program, Koegler said Friday.
“We are working with the facilities to obtain data on when they are scheduled to receive their first doses through the partnership,” Koegler said. “From the data we have collected so far, we calculate that 3,453 residents and staff have received at least a first dose. This number does not take into account how many have been vaccinated through a PHD (public health department), vaccine clinic or by another health care provider.”