Cover Story
Central Coast residents prep to change their citizenship status
Four people faced regional librarian Aracelli Astorga in a fluorescent-lit room where she stood in front of a dry-erase board. That day, Astorga was going over a portion of the application to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, a form known as the N-400. Her students range from 30 to 40 years old,…
THE CANARY: Do you know who I am?
The race for the state Assembly’s 37th District seat is ready for you to judge—as are all the other races for that matter. As for Monique Limón, she’s bailing and running for state Senate, because Hannah-Beth Jackson termed out—although if Limón wins, I wouldn’t expect any major changes. You know, kind of like when Salud…
The race for the 37th Assembly seat is in full swing
When Monique Limón announced she wouldn’t be running for her Assembly seat again, local Democrats mobilized. Some had already planned to run against her for the 37th District seat, while others were considering Hannah Beth-Jackson’s state Senate seat until Limón announced her plans to run for that position. With a filing deadline of Dec. 11,…
Political Watch: December 19, 2019
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a decision on Dec. 12 that opens up more than 1 million acres of public land in California to potential oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. This includes parts of Fresno and Kern counties, as well as all of King, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa…
Cannabis farm applicant presents cannabis terpenes study, county looks for additional information
Among the concerns Santa Barbara County residents have raised in opposition to cannabis is the fear that certain organic compounds released by the plant will taint nearby grapes, changing the flavor of the wine produced. Much of this fear is rooted in a 2012 study completed in Australia that found the organic compounds, or terpenes,…
Another sheriff’s official arrested on alcohol-related charges
An off-duty lieutenant with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office was arrested on Nov. 24 in Arroyo Grande on suspicion of disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Two Arroyo Grande Police Department officers were dispatched to Rooster Creek Tavern on East Branch Street, where they found Brenda Maynard, who had reportedly been disturbing the peace. Maynard…
Four candidates are running for the county’s 3rd District
Conservative Karen Jones and progressive Jessica Alvarez Parfrey joined the race for Santa Barbara County 3rd District supervisor before the Dec. 6 filing deadline, bringing the total candidates vying for the seat to four. Jones ran against current 3rd District candidate Bruce Porter and incumbent supervisor Joan Hartmann in the last election, and she said…
Coastal Commission supports new Surf Beach plan
This past summer was the first time in almost two decades that Surf Beach was guaranteed to remain open throughout the Western snowy plover breeding season, regardless of the number of trespass violations recorded. Since 2000, Vandenberg Air Force Base officials have blocked off sections of Surf Beach to protect the bird—which is listed as…
Central Coast chef’s classes help take the fear out of cooking
I was fortunate to catch up with chef Debbie Duggan before one of her famous appetizer classes recently. We met at her gorgeously remodeled teaching kitchen on Parker Street in an industrial sector of San Luis Obispo, right around the corner from the Nautical Bean coffee shop. Her kitchen is designed in a Tuscan style, with…
Art Squared exhibit showcases acrylic pour paintings at Valley Art Gallery
Described as a study of color, form, and line, Beverly Johnson’s current exhibition at Valley Art Gallery features more than 50 abstract paintings displayed in multiple groupings. Pieces were grouped together based on color and other factors to form a collage of canvas tiles. “The color palette of each grouping is very instrumental to the…
Lompoc Valley Art Association presents Let’s do the Holidays at Cypress Gallery
Cypress Gallery’s latest exhibition serves as an amalgamation—or should I say, fusion—of fused glass and other types of glass art from three local artisans. The title of the show, Let’s do the Holidays, sums up what viewers and potential shoppers can expect from the seasonal exhibit. “Our theme was just to provide items people could…
Santa Maria Library hosts ‘Elf’-themed escape room
The Santa Maria Public Library hosts its Elf Escape Room event on Friday, Dec. 20, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The theme of the competition is based on the 2003 Christmas comedy, Elf. Teams will compete to solve clues in order to locate a hidden key that Buddy the Elf needs help finding. The team…
Comedian Felipe Esparza brings stand-up tour to Santa Ynez
Felipe Esparza, well-known for winning Season Seven of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, will bring his North American stand-up tour to the Chumash Casino Resort on Friday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. The performance takes place in the resort’s Samala Showroom and tickets range from $19 to $59. Following his Last Comic Standing victory in 2010,…
Lompoc Christmas Parade and Decoration Contest winners announced
The Lompoc Recreation Division announced the winners of this year’s Children’s Christmas Parade, which took place on Friday, Dec. 6. A panel of judges selected the top finishers of the parade, which all received trophies for their efforts. Winners were chosen from each of the following eight categories: Marching Band (Vandenberg Middle School Marching Band);…
The Voice finalist and Central Coast local Will Breman performs at Cold Spring Tavern
Santa Barbara-based singer-songwriter Will Breman gained international attention while competing on NBC’s current season of The Voice, making it to the top eight finalists. Although Breman was eliminated at the end of the Dec. 10 episode, the live-looping soul musician feels extremely thankful for the opportunity of being on the show, he explained in a…
Vandenberg Air Force Base’s fire department did not let history repeat itself
Vandenberg Air Force Base, as anyone living in this county knows, is a 150-square-mile ecological marvel that is geographically divided into two distinct terrain and vegetation masses. The southern part of the base is a mountainous region rising from sea level, which is dominated by Tranquillion Peak (2,100 feet), and it is covered with large…
Debbie Lemus offers a tax service for low-income residents and is looking for volunteers who want to help
Before Debbie Lemus retired, she was a registered nurse, administering to patients’ health. Somewhere along the way, she began tending to people’s financial well-being, too. She’s not a certified public accountant or even a financial whiz. Twenty-two years ago, she wondered if her taxes were getting done properly, so she went to a workshop run…
