Gabriela Fernandez
News DirectorGabriela Fernandez came to KCBX in May of 2022 as a general assignment reporter, and became news director in December of 2023. She graduated from Sacramento State with a BA in Political Science. During her senior year, she interned at CapRadio in their podcast department, and later worked for them as an associate producer on the TahoeLand podcast. When she's not writing or editing news stories, she loves to travel, play tennis and take her 140-lbs dog, Atlas, on long walks by the coast.
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Award-winning Mexican-American writer and director, Alyssa Toledo, was born and raised in the Central Coast. She has written and directed three short films of her own, two of them are based in her hometown — Oceano. She expects her latest, Toledo, to be released next year in 2024.
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The federal government took steps to protect humpback whales from deadly entanglements off the California coast. The Center for Biological Diversity said fishing gear is injuring and killing the species.
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A government shutdown is expected to impact millions of Americans, including residents here on the Central Coast. That’s unless Congress passes all of its funding by this Saturday.
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A SLO County family is reopening its native plant nursery after the COVID-19 pandemic forced a temporary closure.
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Tomorrow, a new community event called the Mariposa Festival is honoring the migration of the Western Monarch Butterfly to the Central Coast. The festival is a collaboration between the Central Coast State Parks Association and the Latino Outreach Council to honor the Latino culture’s connection to the declining species.
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SLO County officials are considering a new sales tax that could raise about $35 million a year for transportation projects like highway improvements, bike lanes and more. They’re gathering public input until early October.
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The cities of Santa Maria and Guadalupe have the highest percentage of Latino residents in Santa Barbara County. They also have the lowest voter turnout numbers in the county. KCBX's Gabriela Fernandez looks into the factors keeping many North County residents from engaging with the political process, and some possible solutions.
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Steve Burrell helped found KCBX about fifty years ago. He died earlier this month at 80 years old.
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A local Chumash artist completed a new mural on Cambria’s post office. It’s meant to honor Chumash heritage and raise awareness about a proposed national marine sanctuary that would protect 150 miles of coastline in the San Luis Obispo County area.
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The Plant Fire broke out on the west side of New Cuyama at around 1:20 pm on Saturday, causing evacuation orders and a stretch of Highway 166 to close. Santa Barbara County fire officials said as of 4:42 p.m. on Sunday, the blaze is at 60% containment and has burned about 5,500 acres.