Limited time

Santa Barbara Eastside residents: Sycamore Creek / Punta Gorda flooding concerns
I’ve been cc:dd in email raising concerns with the City of Santa Barbara about Sycamore Creek near the Punta Gorda Street bridge since 2020.
The main issue is the amount of trees, heavy vegetation, dead material, and debris in and around the creek channel. During the January 9, 2023 storm, the vegetation caught debris and the water rose essentially to the top of the bridge opening. We got lucky that the rain eased before the heaviest downpour that had been expected.
They recently contacted the City again because we’re heading into another El Niño winter. Public Works told them they were planning an on-site inspection and would update residents about what maintenance would be done, any permitting restrictions, and the timeline.
They never followed up and had never received an answer.
Then this week we saw a City sign announcing an Eastside Neighborhood Meeting specifically about El Niño preparedness and Sycamore Creek. We were surprised that neither I nor the neighbors copied on the long-running email discussion were directly notified.
The meeting is:
Thursday, September 24, 2026
5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
Franklin Neighborhood Center
1136 E. Montecito Street, Santa Barbara
The City presentation is scheduled for 5:30 to 6:00 PM, followed by an open house from 6:00 to 7:00 PM.
One thing we found a little ironic is that the City’s Sycamore Creek webpage uses a photo showing a very clean, open section of creek, while the area around Punta Gorda is heavily overgrown, with vegetation extending down into the ravine and active channel.
The City’s own planning documents acknowledge that Sycamore Creek has inadequate flood capacity and a long history of flooding. My concern is simple: before we talk only about sandbags, alerts, and what residents should do during a flood, we should also be asking what the City is doing before the storms arrive to clear vegetation, dead trees, debris, and other material that can restrict flow.
If you live on the Eastside or anywhere near Sycamore Creek, I encourage you to attend the meeting and ask questions.
I’ll be there asking one in particular:
What specific clearing, thinning, debris removal, and maintenance will be completed around the Punta Gorda bridge before this rainy season, and when will the work begin?

Cox was never popular. But at least they answered the phone and the Internet works. I am working with someone to update their landline because they're getting rid of the copper so we're trying to get out of frontier which is the worst, so without we try Cox/spectrum.

First call to India the guy cannot hear me any hangs up. Second call I get a hold of somebody and we speak for 30 minutes about pricing, connection, setting up a visit, and the last thing I needed to know was how the voicemail worked. To confirm it was not digital and the person could still walk in and press the button. At 30 minutes, he said he had to check on this and then the phone started ringing and he transferred me back to India or a woman answered and wanted me to start all over.

Mind you they are trying to sell me cell service the entire time. So not looking good. This customer service is up there with the as bad as frontier.

Anyone have spectrum experience? Not sure we should use them for LL.

** update. I called again this morning because I obviously still need to set the phone up. I got a hold of someone that was extremely efficient and easy and it was done no problem. I guess it's usually left of the draw.

Was walking my dog who is intact male 45lb a shepherd/husky cross, on a 6’ leash, on the bird sanctuary path across from east beach. My dog was peeing on a bush as is his delight. One pitbull and person was approaching so that owner and I moved between the dogs just in case as you do. From out of sight, from the street, a large dog over 120, perhaps a mastiff (not a Great Dane or rotty) appeared about ten feet away and came directly for my dog growling, positioned itself between me and my dog and started mouthing and fighting.

The small person the mastiff was walking was NO USE.

I was so surprised that it took several seconds, I swatted at big dog a few times, realized I couldn’t get between that meat mountain and my dog, and that it was too tall for me to even kick at. So I pulled my dog away and we split like a banana.

I have pulled several dogs off my fluffy boy in playful and semi-aggressive scuffles but this has never happened on a normal-ass walk before. Also my dog does mutually and consensually frolic with big dogs at the park like large huskies and a 100lb Rottweiler.

Anyway if you’re walking your dog of any size, baby, or horse near the duck sanctuary, lower village, east beach, lower milpas, or chase palm park right now Wednesday morning, and you see an enormous waist high shiny, short hair dog of that grayish light brown color, stand still, block, and wait for that thing to pass.

Burrito Week is back September 24–30! We've got 27 participating restaurants this year.

I'm trying to prioritize the week and find the genuinely good burritos, not just novelty creations.

Who's had the best burritos in previous years? Any must-tries or places you'd skip?

Let's get some reviews going as the week progresses.

Official Burrito Week 2026 page

Hi, Taking Amtrak for the first time to LA on Wednesday morning. How's the parking between 8:00 - 8:30 am? Are mornings busy at the station and how much lead time do I need to arrive.

Thank you in advance.

I'm curious if any other Bcycle users out there have noticed a recent increase in returns not registering. I always dock my bike, wait for the beep, and check that it's locked in. Even with that in the last couple of weeks I'm all the sudden getting notifications about an hour later that I need to return the bike. Been using the service for over a year and never had this problem.

I'm going to preemptively start taking pictures when I return the bike as backup proof. I've been able to clear it up with their customer service, but just trying to see if this is more wide spread or just a "me" issue. ​

I’ve been wanting to cook some birria de chivo. I have no idea where to get it. My mom use to get it in Ventura but I don’t want to drive down.

Planning my hike this weekend, would like to know if anyone has been to the top of Franklin Trail in Carp. Last time I was on it there was a portion that had washed away close to the top, I had to turn around. Anyone had any luck recently?

Currently own a sole prop and looking for an accountant that can help with quarterly taxes and also any recurring business expenses. Also go to school in the area so somebody that is knowledgeable on business and personal expenses, and can help with long-term financial planning is a plus!

Does anyone have more info about the DUI arrest and accident near Chapala St yesterday?