Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: Is your license-plate data quietly leaving Santa Barbara’s control?

Also, don't miss Museum Closed Thursday, January 1, 2026 on the Santa Barbara Patch calendar

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Hi there, Santa Barbara! We've got your morning read ready! Read on to stay connected. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • Is your license-plate data quietly leaving Santa Barbara’s control?
  • What a hidden 1999 time capsule revealed inside a Santa Barbara church
  • How Adam’s Angels keeps Santa Barbara’s unhoused fed through winter storms

Today's riddle: How many sheep does it take to make a sweater? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Find out what's happening in Santa Barbarafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Weather forecast:

  • Saturday: Variable cloudiness, with a high of 64 and low of 46 degrees.
  • Sunday: Mostly sunny, temps: high: 66, low: 49.
  • Monday: Plenty of sunshine, with a high of 65 and low of 48 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Are firms working for Santa Barbara sharing your data? A push is on to find out - Santa Barbara News Press (newspress.com) — Santa Barbara officials are scrutinizing contracts with tech vendors to ensure residents’ license-plate data isn’t shared or sold, especially to federal immigration agencies. Two City Council members are pushing for a full audit of city contractors, while police leaders insist current policies and state law already tightly control how license-plate reader data is used and shared.
   

Find out what's happening in Santa Barbarafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

2. Forgotten Time Capsule Brings Santa Barbara Church Back to 1999 (independent.com) — A long-forgotten 1999 time capsule has been rediscovered behind a bathroom wall at Santa Barbara’s First Presbyterian Church, reconnecting today’s congregation with its past. Packed with letters, photos, worship recordings, and mementos from a major renovation, the capsule’s contents are now on display in the church lobby, sparking reflection among longtime members and newcomers alike.
   

3. Volunteers Continue to Help for the Holidays in the Rain With Food and Tarps (keyt.com) — In Santa Barbara, volunteers with the nonprofit Adam’s Angels are braving rainy holiday weather to assemble and hand out about 200 necessity bags a week to people living on the streets. They’re also serving weekly dinners at Pershing Park and distributing tarps and wet-weather gear to help unhoused neighbors cope with storms when they can’t reach shelters or food distributions.
   

4. New Display Tech Creates Graphics You Can Feel (goodmenproject.com) — Cutting-edge research at UC Santa Barbara has produced a new display that lets users literally feel on-screen graphics through tiny light-powered bumps. Led by PhD candidate Max Linnander and professor Yon Visell, the project could eventually transform car dashboards, e-books, and even interactive walls, all developed right here in Santa Barbara’s engineering labs.
   

5. UC Santa Barbara Program Broadens STEM Opportunity for Underserved Youth (independent.com) — UC Santa Barbara is launching a new Future Makers program that brings elementary and middle school students from underserved districts like Lompoc, Santa Paula, and Santa Maria to campus for hands-on STEM activities. Guided by UCSB’s California NanoSystems Institute and Los Ingenieros mentors, kids design personalized trading cards using 3D printers and laser cutters, helping them imagine themselves in future STEM careers connected to the Santa Barbara area.
   

📸 Around Santa Barbara

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Santa Barbara

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

    Thursday January 1
  • Museum Closed Thursday, January 1, 2026
    Santa Barbara Maritime Museum , 113 Harbor Way, Ste 190 , Santa Barbara
    • Saturday January 3
  • Crafternoons for Kids
    EE Makerspace , 302 East Cota St , Santa Barbara
    10:00 am

📣 Santa Barbara Shout Outs!

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🗓 Events Nearby

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making Santa Barbara PatchAM possible:

  • Mindsee.it — (646) 663-8317
    Teach your kids they can achieve the impossible!

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • OKAY NEIGHBORS I HOPE THIS WORKS-COYO HAS A RED COLLAR-ITS RAINING-WE HAVE TO HELP HER-SHE RAN AWAY FROM EL SUENO REGION-WAS SEEN AT FIVE POINTS-LA CUMBRE RD-TODAY ON HOPE AVENUE-THE OWNERS LIVE OUT OF TOWN AND WERE VISITING THATS WHY SHE IS SO
    AFRAID AND RUNNING CIRCLES AROUND TOWN. IF FOUND CONTACT 805-455-0684 or 805-453-2022 (Nextdoor Waterfront)
  • Happy Holidays everyone!
    I wisely pulled my cameras because of the rainfall, so I thought I'd share this gem of Dolores and one of her cubs from 2023. IG@wildlife.in.sb (Nextdoor Upper State)
  • Hilton posted a job opening for Purchasing Clerk - Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort in Santa Barbara. Apply here.
  • Government Jobs posted a job opening for District Office Intern - Office of Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limn (Santa Barbara, CA) in Santa Barbara. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Santa Barbara here.

Ok Santa Barbara! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I have no idea. I didn’t even know sheep could knit.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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