🌱 Patch AM: What Friendship Manor’s big move to Milpas Street means for seniors

Hey there, Santa Barbara! Let's get started with what's happening in and around town. Read on and stay in the loop. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• What Friendship Manor's big move to Milpas Street means for seniors
• How one Santa Barbara leader is reshaping local mental health support
• How the 1977 Sycamore Fire nearly pushed into downtown Santa Barbara

Also on today's calendar: Horse lovers! Now hear what horses have to say...about you... and 8 more events.

Today's riddle: What do you call a snowman that is having a temper tantrum? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Monday: Sunny to partly cloudy, with a high of 82 and low of 65 degrees.
• Tuesday: Mostly sunny and pleasant, temps: high: 79, low: 65.
• Wednesday: Times of clouds and sun, with a high of 81 and low of 66 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Friendship Manor seniors to move to Santa Barbara after over 50 years in Isla Vista - Santa Barbara News-Press (newspress.com) — Friendship Manor, a long-standing affordable senior community in Isla Vista, has bought the Capital Hardware site on North Milpas Street and plans to relocate into the city of Santa Barbara by 2029. The move still needs city planning and building approvals, will reduce room count but modernize conditions, and is seen as a crucial boost to local senior housing options on the Eastside.
   

• Gabriela Dodson Carries Family Legacy of Service into New Mental Wellness Center Role (noozhawk.com) — Santa Barbara's Mental Wellness Center has promoted longtime social worker Gabriela Dodson to chief program officer as demand for local mental health care surges, especially among youth and an aging "silver tsunami." Drawing on deep family roots in Santa Barbara and decades of bilingual, community-focused work, she's expanding access for Spanish-speaking residents and mentoring new clinicians to strengthen the local mental health workforce.
   

• Ray Ford: Remembering the 1977 Sycamore Fire (noozhawk.com) — Santa Barbara's 1977 Sycamore Fire roared from the foothills through Sycamore Canyon and the Riviera in just seven hours, destroying 195 homes and nearly reaching the city's core. This detailed retrospective follows firefighters and residents through harrowing escapes, water and power failures, and the long rebuilding that reshaped how Santa Barbara understands wind-driven wildfire risk today.
   

📸 Around Santa Barbara

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Santa Barbara

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★ Featured events ★

Saturday August 22
• Horse lovers! Now hear what horses have to say...about you... →
  2905 Bramadero Road, Los Olivos,
  1:00 pm

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Tuesday August 18
• Teacher Work Day (Non Student Day)
  Santa Barbara Unified District Santa Barbara, CA 93101
• Playground Supervisors Meeting (Director of SFS)
  Santa Barbara Unified District Santa Barbara, CA 93101
  8:00 am
• Stadium: Flag Football vs. Santa Ynez Var 6:00pm, JV 7:30pm
  San Marcos High School Santa Barbara, CA 93110
  6:00 pm
Wednesday August 19
• First Day of School (All Grades)
  Santa Barbara Unified District Santa Barbara, CA 93101
• Gym: G Volleyball vs. Mission Prep - Var 5:30pm, JV 4:00pm
  San Marcos High School Santa Barbara, CA 93110
  4:00 pm
• Back to School Night
  Franklin Elementary School Santa Barbara, CA 93103
  6:00 pm
Thursday August 20
• Gym: G Volleyball vs. Hart - Var 6:30pm, JV 5:00pm, FS 4:00pm
  San Marcos High School Santa Barbara, CA 93110
  4:00 pm
• Back to School Night
  Roosevelt Elementary School Santa Barbara, CA 93101
  6:00 pm
Sunday August 23
• EL PIRATA BUCHAR": The Pirate Hippolyte Bouchard on California's Central Coast →
  , Santa Barbara
  10:00 am
Sunday August 30
• Community Educational Day Sail on Tall Ship Mystic Whaler →
  113 Harbor Way, Santa Barbara
  12:00 pm

📣 Santa Barbara Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Tuesday August 18
• Stadium: Flag Football vs. Santa Ynez Var 6:00pm, JV 7:30pm
  San Marcos High School Santa Barbara, CA 93110
  6:00 pm
Wednesday August 19
• Gym: G Volleyball vs. Mission Prep - Var 5:30pm, JV 4:00pm
  San Marcos High School Santa Barbara, CA 93110
  4:00 pm
Thursday August 20
• Gym: G Volleyball vs. Hart - Var 6:30pm, JV 5:00pm, FS 4:00pm
  San Marcos High School Santa Barbara, CA 93110
  4:00 pm
Friday August 21
• Stadium" Football vs. Dana Hills - Var 7:00pm
  San Marcos High School Santa Barbara, CA 93110
  7:00 pm

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

 

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

• Wicks Roofing and Solar — (805) 965-5122
• RowCal - Ventura — (310) 776-5409
• Firewood Guys- Santa Barbara — (805) 795-7111

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Loose Cat in Vons Turnpike parking lot.
  A man's cat jumped out of his truck. He's been trying to get her from under cars, but he hasn't had success and he said he's going to have to leave… (Nextdoor Blueberry Hill)

• VF Corporation posted a job opening for Vans: Store Manager - Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara. Apply here.
• Santa Barbara County Education Office posted a job opening for Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (Santa Maria, CA) in Santa Barbara. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Santa Barbara here.

🗞 Nearby News

Montecito

• Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Are Moving In Together: Their Zodiacs Hint at Why They Waited so Long (cheatsheet.com)
• New Details Emerge in Fatal Car-vs.-Pedestrian Collision on Coast Village Road (independent.com)
• From Our Inbox: Letters to the Editor for the Week Ending Aug. 14, 2026 (noozhawk.com)

Goleta

• Community Members Gather for Goleta's Annual Dam Dinner at Lake Los Carneros (noozhawk.com)
• Devereux residents plant 50 succulents at Goleta's Stow House - Santa Barbara News-Press (newspress.com)
• Book Pet Care Services in Goleta, CA with Jazmin H. from $20/hr (care.com)

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: A meltdown ! (Thank you Gary M. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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