Cover Story
Libraries up and down the Central Coast are learning how to meet the community where they’re at during the pandemic
Libraries have always been about more than the books. A library is a community gathering space, a place to access the internet, and a creative learning environment. So when the pandemic not only forced the city of Santa Maria Main Library’s physical doors to close, but also threatened its funding, the stakes were high for…
SOUL
SOUL Where’s it playing? Disney Plus What’s it rated? PG Pete Docter and Kemp Powers co-direct this Pixar animated adventure comedy about Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a middle school band teacher who winds up dead from an accident on the very day he gets his big break to join a famous jazz ensemble.…
Lifelong Santa Maria resident Terri Wahlberg is baking up a storm from home through Wahly’s Sweet Treats
Whether it whets your appetite or not, there’s something objectively pure and life-fulfilling about seeing a tiny taco on top of a cupcake. It’s like crossing something off a bucket list you never thought was there to begin with. But this particular taco was made of fondant icing, like many of home baker Terri Wahlberg’s…
Gallery Los Olivos closes 2020 with its annual Winter Salon exhibit, both in person and online
With paintings hung from floor to ceiling, Gallery Los Olivos has enough space to showcase more than 50 different local artists during Winter Salon, the gallery’s annual salon-style exhibition. And for those unable to make it to the gallery in person this year, the exhibit is available online to view for free. While the show’s…
Pioneer Valley High School students raise donations for families in need during special drive-through event
Student leaders at Pioneer Valley High School (PVHS) in Santa Maria organized Holiday Lights, a special drive-through event held on campus on Dec. 12. The event was designed to “give our community a place for the family to see holiday lights and celebrate the season with our PVHS family,” said Lisa Walters, the school’s Panther…
Santa Maria’s Lights, Sights, and Holiday Nights Decorating Contest announces winners
The city of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department has announced the winners of its annual Lights, Sights, and Holiday Nights Decorating Contest. A map of the city that highlights the winning residences is now available online for the community to view or print at cityofsantamaria.org. The department announced the following winners in their respective…
Not nice
By now Santa’s long finished with making and double-checking his naughty and nice list, and though the Big Guy and I go way back, I don’t have access to those confidential papers. So, I’m making my own list. The not-nice list. Complete with North County’s naughtiest naysayers and nincompoops. This biggest bad boy isn’t confined…
Political Watch: December 24, 2020
• The House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report for the 2021 fiscal year with a veto-proof majority on Dec. 8, according to a statement from U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal’s office. Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) served as a conferee and played a role in drafting the final product, which prioritizes the…
Boys and Girls Club gets OK to use the Solvang’s Vets Memorial Hall
The United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County received the city’s permission to use the Veterans Memorial Hall to provide after-school programming to students of the Solvang School District after it lost its space at the Solvang Elementary School campus. Solvang City Manager Xenia Bradford said during the Dec. 14 City Council meeting…
County holds winter preparedness meeting to discuss debris flow prevention
Nearly three years after the Montecito mudslide tragedy that claimed 23 lives, Santa Barbara County continues to keep a close eye on vegetation recovery, debris basins, flood control systems, and winter weather to ensure that a similar incident isn’t repeated. On Dec. 17, community members from across the county were invited to join a winter…
Santa Barbara County Redistricting Commission completes selection process
The 11 members of Santa Barbara County’s Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission have officially been chosen, and although the commission isn’t perfectly representative of the population that inhabits this county, it’s more diverse than when the selection process started. At a meeting on Dec. 14, the first five commissioners, who were randomly selected for their positions…
Area hospitals receive, administer first round of COVID-19 vaccines
Hospital workers across Northern Santa Barbara County got their first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during the week of Dec. 14 after receiving allotments from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department. Marian Regional Medical Center vaccinated its first workers on Dec. 17, a moment that was met with applause and cheers from the…
Wintertime promotions run by local animal shelters make it the perfect time of year to bring home a furry member of the family
Feeling lonely after canceling your holiday plans? Need something to fill the void of social interaction in 2020? Searching for a new companion for the New Year? Look no further than your local animal shelters! ’Tis the season to bring home a furry friend, and Santa Barbara County shelters are putting on some special holidays…
A response to ‘Woke on the Warpath’
I’ve been trying to fill my head with happy thoughts these past few months, and “Woke on the Warpath” (Nov. 26) put a dent in that. I’m not sure how John Donegan derives his pronouncements if not from breathtaking naiveté. The now-scrubbed material from Cuesta College trustee Pete Sysak’s social media went way beyond calling…
Pick up that ear trumpet
I think one of the greatest shortfalls in the upbringing of the current generation is the lack of education regarding critical thinking and manners. When did we become content to accept what we’re told from just anybody, and start clinging to the belief that if it makes us feel good, it must be fact? When…
Close the dunes again
Never in our lifetime have we faced a health crisis as we are in now. Getting back to “normal” clearly will not be happening for a long time. Since the county has reverted to purple, concrete action is being taken to limit the number and sizes of gatherings. Given all of the closure mandates in…
A community question
If cases of COVID-19 are traced to a business that has openly operated in violation of local, state, and Centers for Disease Control guidelines for COVID-19 safety, can the patrons of those businesses who contract COVID-19 or the families of those who die from COVID-19 sue those businesses for pain, suffering, loss, or wrongful death?…
A coming flood in Oceano
In the debate about whether ATVs should be allowed to tear up environmentally sensitive habitat and run over endangered birds in the Oceano dunes, or whether a moneyed Central Valley tradition should trump the rights of disadvantaged locals to a safe beach and clean air, there’s one significant point that’s largely overlooked. Operation of the…
Regarding ‘Reflections on the “New World”‘
Very well said! Thank you for publishing it (Dec. 10)! The vast majority of us are immigrants, mostly back decades. My family arrived here about 1700 so I’m an Irish American like those those that arrived here from Africa. We call them African Americans, even though 99 percent have never been there or speak any…
