Nearly all the inmates at Lompoc prison's low-security Federal Correctional Institution have tested positive for COVID-19, although most have shown no symptoms, which officials believe may have contributed to the rampant spread of the virus inside the facility.
The information was disclosed via testimony during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday in which lawmakers pressed Bureau of Prisons officials, including Director Michael Carvajal and Medical Director Dr. Jeffrey Allen, for answers about what measures staff has taken to contain the spread among inmates inside the Lompoc complex.
The prison complex, located five miles north of Lompoc, includes approximately 2,700 inmates in the medium-security U.S. Penitentiary and two satellite camps plus the Federal Correctional Institution, which houses more than 900 inmates.
Daniel Lee Vadnais, 56, had tested positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus on May 2, according to the the Bureau of Prisons. He was pronounced dead Monday.
A federal class-action lawsuit was filed against Lompoc prison officials on Friday, accusing them of failing to take the necessary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among inmates and staff inside the facility.
Coronavirus Series: Local impact and reaction to COVID-19 on the Central Coast
We are working hard to get answers about the impact and reaction to the coronavirus in Santa Barbara County, this is a collection of those stories. Do you have a question about coronavirus in Santa Barbara County? The Santa Maria Times news staff will work to answer your questions. Post them to our Facebook page, or email MCooley@SantaMariaTimes.com. You can support the work of local journalists working hard in your hometown by signing up for a News+ Membership online.
If you’ve wondered why the numbers on Santa Barbara County’s COVID-19 metrics webpage don’t match the state's numbers the same day on its page…
Three more coronavirus-related deaths reported at Country Oaks Care Center, total now at 8 in a week
Three residents at Country Oaks Care Center in Santa Maria died Saturday in connection to a COVID-19 outbreak that has resulted in eight total…
For many tattoo artists, nail salon owners and personal care professionals in Santa Barbara County, June 19 turned quickly from a day of hope …
Santa Barbara County officials are deeply concerned about the county's rising rate of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations over the last week, …
Santa Barbara County’s plan to move into the third stage of reopening the economy Friday could be jeopardized by a recent spike in COVID-19 ho…
Lompoc schools will open the 2020-21 school year two weeks later than initially anticipated, and students will begin the new session under a m…
After meeting with the state Wednesday and reviewing recent epidemiological data, Santa Barbara County will not be moving forward into the nex…
Hispanics, Latinos and agricultural workers make up a disproportionate number of the COVID-19 cases in the Santa Maria area, where the number …
When Wine Stone Inn broke ground in Orcutt in October, having to close just months later in March due to the coronavirus pandemic was not how …
After struggling to make ends meet during a nearly three-month coronavirus closure, Gina Martinez will reopen her Orcutt gym Anytime Fitness t…
While the exact number is still uncertain, preliminary estimates show Santa Barbara County taking a $24.4 million hit from COVID-19 in the 202…
The Chumash Casino Resort reopened its doors with heightened safety restrictions on Wednesday afternoon, following a three-month closure due t…
Facing a $4.36 million budget gap due to the coronavirus pandemic, Santa Maria city officials are proposing budget cuts that include keeping t…
After wrapping up a school year unlike any other, officials at Lompoc Unified School District have turned their attention to what could be a d…
In the early 1990s, when her daughter Halle was still a baby, Heather Bedford gave serious consideration to opening her own coffee shop in dow…
Fitness centers, bars, wineries, and campgrounds could reopen this week in Santa Barbara County after Gov. Gavin Newsom approved certain count…
For the eighth straight year, several local school districts have partnered with the No Kid Hungry organization to offer free grab-and-go meal…
Nearly all the inmates at Lompoc prison's low-security Federal Correctional Institution have tested positive for COVID-19, although most have …
Santa Barbara County is now tracking how reopening segments of the economy is affecting the spread of COVID-19 and whether the county is remai…
Local high schools are altering their graduation plans after the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department approved the addition of in-per…
Lompoc prison officials on Friday identified a third inmate who died from COVID-19 as 37-year-old Mohamed Yusuf.
As doctors pushed Melissa Meza's wheelchair down the hallway of Marian Regional Medical Center on Thursday, she was met with the cheers of ove…
Central Coast New Tech High School in Nipomo celebrated the accomplishments of its 55 graduates Thursday in a ceremony that blended elements o…
The Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez will reopen its doors at noon June 10 with strict safety measures and cleaning procedures in place, a …
Athird inmate death was reported at the Lompoc prison complex on Tuesday, while at the same time infections have significantly dropped followi…
After Albert Licerio learned Tuesday that he could reopen Old Orcutt Barber Shop, he received a flood of calls from clients asking to schedule…
After two months of operation, serving up to 71 people a night, the emergency homeless shelter in the Santa Maria High School gym closed as of…
The River of Giving food distribution, organized by local chef Maili Halme, which began as an effort to help workers and their families put ou…
Santa Barbara County has temporarily suspended regulations that prohibit or limit wineries and tasting rooms from serving food, clearing the w…
As Santa Barbara County implements a health order requiring the use of face coverings, Santa Maria law enforcement officials said they will fo…
Every night as twilight slides toward darkness, the exterior lights go off at a house on a quiet street in northwest Santa Maria, the front do…
Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are now able to move farther into Stage 2 of the state reopening plan with places of worship, barbe…
As Amber Meyers approached the entrance to the Vons supermarket in Lompoc late Tuesday morning, she adjusted her cloth face covering to ensure…
Solvang's Fourth of July Fireworks Show and Festival has been canceled this year, according to the Rotary Club of the Santa Ynez Valley, which…
Face coverings will be mandated in public places throughout Santa Barbara County beginning Tuesday with exceptions for children under 13, in a…
Hancock College graduates who are transferring to four-year universities were honored Friday evening with a socially distanced drive-through c…
Receiving the news that Santa Barbara County restaurants can reopen for dine-in business was the moment Alfonso Curti had been waiting and pre…
The Santa Maria Boys & Girls Club needs volunteers to help with food distribution from 9 to 11 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
To help restaurants and retail shops reopen, Santa Barbara County has launched a program that will allow businesses and organizations to tempo…
Leaders from Santa Maria, Lompoc, Guadalupe and communities in the Santa Ynez Valley have launched a campaign urging residents to wear masks i…
Afederal class-action lawsuit filed against Lompoc prison officials accuses them of failing to take the necessary measures to prevent the COVI…
Lompoc residents can expect to see some savings on their upcoming utility bills. The Lompoc City Council on Tuesday night voted 5-0 to use abo…
Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties both received approval from the state Wednesday to reopen dine-in services at restaurants and in-st…
Santa Barbara County has met the governor’s criteria for additional companies to get back to doing business, clearing the way for many of them…
One urgency ordinance preventing eviction was extended while another ordinance allowing parking restrictions was approved Tuesday by the Santa…
Lompoc Unified School District is seeking input from parents, via an online survey, as it works to develop plans to reopen campuses for the 20…
Local hospitals have begun using emerging antiviral medication remdesivir as a form of treatment against severe cases of COVID-19, after Santa…
Dozens of Lompoc community members gathered at a busy intersection on Saturday for the second "Reopen Lompoc" rally held this month.
A group of local pilots joined together Monday morning for a high-flying show of support for area health-care workers.
On July 9, 2011, Santa Barbara County sheriff's Sgt. Desiree Thome secured a helicopter landing zone for Prince William and his wife, Catherin…
After they received their gowns for a graduation that won't take place, Lakeview Junior High School students Danielle Veukes and Raquel Schmid…
After returning from two weeks in New York City helping with its mortuary services, Dan Flynn decided to go for a walk with his wife near Sant…
The moment Tyler Little had to tell his family in Ohio they should not come to his Hancock College commencement was a "gut punch." This year's…
To help address food insecurity heightened by the pandemic, eight local Allstate agency owners initiated virtual food drives to benefit the Fo…
An online fundraiser was launched this week to replace a Foodbank of Santa Barbara County semitruck that was totaled Monday after overturning …
Afoundation that promotes space education, and has offered its programs at a Lompoc school, announced this month that several of its lessons a…
Workers at a Lompoc clinic were treated to lunch Wednesday by a family of local business owners as a show of support and gratitude.
Statistics used by Santa Barbara County to track COVID-19 cases can’t be compared to statistics for influenza — simply because influenza data …
Concerts came to the shut-in home quarantining residents of Buellton on Wednesday, as walking musicians performed in the city’s “Bach & Bl…
Santa Barbara County will send a letter to the governor asking for more discretion on the criteria for accelerating the current stage of reope…
As the owner of The Party Shop in Lompoc, John Keth spent part of Tuesday going over inventory and cleaning up the store between occasional in…
Undocumented families on the Central Coast are beginning to receive donation-funded stimulus checks of $1,200 from the nonprofit disaster reli…
Due to a combination of social distancing concerns and anticipated lack of funding, Santa Maria's community fireworks show on the Fourth of Ju…
Orcutt Academy High School has finalized plans to hold a drive-in graduation ceremony for its Class of 2020 on Friday evening, June 5, school …
Aroadmap for businesses to reopen their doors in Santa Barbara County is expected to be delivered to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday next …
On Thursday, May 14 at approximately 8 p.m., the Sea Center on Stearns Wharf will light up in blue to show gratitude to healthcare and essenti…
In light of the ongoing public health crisis and prohibition on public gatherings, PCPA has been forced to cancel its 2020 summer season in Sa…
A committee made up of Hancock College administrators, faculty, staff and student representatives is recommending that the college continue to…
After Santa Marian Melissa Meza received a plasma donation from a COVID-19 survivor that aided in her fight against the virus, her husband vow…
Inmates' access to email and phone calls at the Lompoc prison has been suspended since mid-April, upsetting family members who say officials h…
More than 20 honking cars drove through parking lots at Mission Hope Cancer Center and Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria Monday, g…
Bobby Young, of economic consultant service HdL, gave a sobering projection to the Santa Maria City Council: even if the statewide stay-at-hom…
Bella Florist in Lompoc experienced record sales this week as people stuck at home under quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic still want…
“We kind of just do our best to keep them busy, or at least underneath the camera, when we’re teaching,” Jacob West, teacher at Fillmore Eleme…
Although Rolanda Cordero acknowledged she wasn’t experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, the Lompoc resident said she’d rather be safe than sorry.
Asurge of positive results stemming from mass COVID-19 testing at the federal penitentiary in Lompoc this week, has again pushed the prison in…
Speeding citations issued by California Highway Patrol in the Santa Maria area have dropped, while excessive speed violations have increased a…
The Santa Maria Joint-Union High School District has announced plans for virtual and drive-thru graduation ceremonies in early June for senior…
As Santa Maria businesses near the end of their seventh week navigating revenue loss and restricted service under the state's stay-at-home ord…
Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is looking for volunteers and new staff people to help expand the COVID-19 response as testing i…
Manzanita Public Charter School students, their families and school staff were celebrated Wednesday in the school’s first-ever “Pawsitivity Parade.”
Asecond inmate at the Lompoc federal prison has died from complications related to COVID-19, prison officials reported Wednesday evening.
During a 90-minute period on April 17, Santa Maria Police dispatch received nine calls reporting stolen cars, an example of a recent spike in …
Lompoc residents may be on the verge of seeing a significant cut in their electric bills.
Members of the Class of 2020 in Lucia Mar Unified School District will receive their diplomas in drive-through events, but just how the proces…
As a result of the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, more people are relying on technology for work, staying in touch with friends and family, as w…
Santa Maria California News Media, Inc., which publishes the Santa Maria Times, Lompoc Record and Santa Ynez Valley News, is introducing a lim…
After repeated incidents of forced entry into the now-closed Santa Maria skate park, city officials on Monday covered concrete, ramps and boxe…
Community of Prayer and local churches are calling on all Central Coast residents to join in this year’s National Day of Prayer through an onl…
Santa Barbara County should be able to meet the criteria for accelerating the next phase of reopening the economy after lower-risk workplaces …
The first day of community COVID-19 testing in Santa Barbara County drew residents from as far as Santa Barbara and southern San Luis Obispo C…
A ninth individual has died from COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County, and 18 new cases were confirmed Tuesday by the Public Health Department, br…
After a mandated suspension of elective surgeries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lompoc Valley Medical Center is set to resume performing a lim…
The Lompoc federal prison complex is set to open a new hospital wing that was constructed in less than a month in response to a significant CO…
Beginning Tuesday morning, individuals who have scheduled a 5-minute appointment online or over the phone can receive a nasal swab inside the …
Drivers on Highway 101 in Santa Maria can now witness Hancock College turning blue every night. Recently, the school began illuminating two of…
The May Firm, a personal injury law firm with offices in Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo, said it is donating $10,000 to support local restaur…