KCRW The 805 Stories from the Central Coast

Debris nets go up in the slide zones of Carpinteria and Montecito in an effort to save money and reduce mudslide risks. Large container ships are asked to voluntarily slow down as the pass through the Santa Barbara Channel during the summer to reduce coastal air pollution and reduce the risk of striking endangered whales.

The trees at the Ellwood Mesa preserve have been dying off, and the California Monarchs are following suit. Santa Barbara’s newest poet laureate talks about her two year tenure and her quest to take poetry from the university to the streets. And first it was helicopter moms, now it’s lawnmower parents.

The city of Santa Barbara gets a state grant to try and help the roughly 900 people who are homeless in the city. Old Town Goleta has a reputation for being pretty sleepy. Can a booming beverage industry pour some life into the area? Bakers in Santa Barbara are going to extremes to make the perfect tartine loaf. And as we head into spring, one local nonprofit prepares to receive thousands of wild baby animals in distress.

An investigation by the Ventura County Fire Department says power lines owned by Southern California Edison started the Thomas Fire. The debate continues over whether or not the county should approve new onshore oil drilling near Santa Maria. And hundreds of ultramarathoners will descend on the Los Padres Mountains this weekend for the Nine Trails Race.

Birds are chirping, creeks are flowing and wildflower buds are beginning to pop up and down the Central Coast. A landscape architect who understands the complicated and delicate nature of creating public memorials offers advice to Montecito. And neuroscientists from UC Santa Barbara have developed a new theory that helps explain why some people drink too much.