Featured news

Mounting losses: Horseback ride and petting zoo operator alleges pony’s death caused by nearby construction

Runny noses. Swollen eyes. Rashes. Hives. A wave of illness that plagued Bob Sweeney’s horses last summer, he said, coincided with construction work happening adjacent to his stables in Buellton. Sweeney described the city’s nearly yearlong construction of a new 100-space parking lot on Sycamore Drive in 2025 as detrimental to his business—SYV Horseback Rides, a riding facility and petting zoo—for multiple reasons. Buellton’s legal advisors are currently investigating. Among them was the death of Sweeney’s 13-year-old pony, Marshmallow,…

Mounting losses: Horseback ride and petting zoo operator alleges pony’s death caused by nearby construction

Runny noses. Swollen eyes. Rashes. Hives. A wave of illness that plagued Bob Sweeney’s horses last summer, he said, coincided with construction work happening adjacent to his stables in Buellton. Sweeney described the city’s nearly yearlong construction of a new 100-space parking lot on Sycamore Drive in 2025 as detrimental to his…


Your weekly dose of local news, arts, and culture. Our News Wire newsletter lands every Thursday with the stories shaping Northern Santa Barbara County.

latest canary

A Santa Maria music teacher released her first EP in more than 25 years

In a 1992 episode of Golden Girls, Dorothy sat at a table inside a bar. Next to her a piano player led her in song. Dorothy started singing the melancholic ā€œWhat’ll I Doā€ by Irving Berlin. Dorothy rose to her feet midway through, completely serenading the crowd. When Christine Fogh watched the scene on TV as a young girl, she longed to play ā€œWhat’ll I Do.ā€ Normally, she could immediately copy a song on her pink Casio keyboard just…

Gift this article