Cover Story
55 Fiction: The shortest stories you’ll read this week
You can say a lot in 55 words. You can fight, forget, or love someone. Tell stories about global warming, eat your friends, or die. Make political statements. Riff on getting old. But there are only a select few who can do it well enough to get published! For the last three decades, New Times…
Organization protecting sex offenders’ rights continues statewide lawsuit campaign, sues Lompoc
An organization dedicated to protecting the rights of registered sex offenders is on a campaign to sue cities throughout California with ordinances in place that it believes are unconstitutional. The city of Lompoc is one of the group’s most recent targets. Attorney Janice Bellucci, who is the founder and executive director of Alliance for Constitutional…
New pesticide reporting app improves investigation process
California recently released a new pesticide reporting app that can be downloaded on smartphones, and state and local officials expect the new technology to expedite the pesticide incident reporting and investigation process. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation announced on June 26 the launch of its new pesticide incident reporting app, CASPIR (California’s System…
Spotlight on: Santa Maria Public Airport, Chris Hastert, general manager
Hordes of Central Coast residents took to their social media pages on June 26 to cheer the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport’s announcement that it will soon offer direct flights to Las Vegas, a move that could impact the Santa Maria airport’s limited flight options. Santa Maria Public Airport General Manager Chris Hastert…
Lompoc City Council backs businesses, not city staff on grease traps
Twice in the last two months the Lompoc City Council has voted against the recommendation of city staff and upheld appeals from local business owners to avoid installing grease traps. This equipment captures and prevents grease and other materials from traveling into the city’s wastewater system. Owners of the Vitamin and Herb Store and P.J.’s…
State commission terminates oil and gas leases offshore Santa Barbara County
The State Lands Commission terminated three oil and gas leases and a right-of-way lease for a pipeline off the coast of Santa Barbara County after the companies holding the leases failed to pay rent for more than three years. Carone Petroleum Corporation stopped making annual rental payments on the oil and gas leases in…
County, cities seek federal grant to fight gang violence
The Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County (CAC) is applying for a grant through the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to create a more collaborative approach to reducing gang violence in the county. According to a memorandum of understanding between the CAC and the jurisdictions sponsoring the grant application, the commission will lead an…
Cunningham tables e-cig marketing bill for stricter anti-vaping legislation
It’s been several months since Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) introduced a bill in December 2018 that aimed to deter e-cigarette use among minors by prohibiting “deceptive e-cigarette marketing” geared toward children. That bill has since been tabled, and now Cunningham is including its provisions in a more robust and stringent anti-vaping bill. On…
A $50,000 grant will go toward getting more residents involved in finding a fix for Cuyama’s water problems
While many areas in California rely at least partially on groundwater for drinking, plumbing, and irrigation, few are completely dependent on groundwater as a sole water source, and even fewer pump so much water each year that basins are slowly running dry. But Cuyama is one of those places, and an environmental justice grant is…
Lompoc’s newest eatery pushes the boundaries of familiar homestyle fare
Some weeks, you just need some ridiculously rich, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food to try and make the feelings go away. I’m not going to get into all the messy personal details here, but last week was just about my worst yet, filled with family drama, alcoholism, and deep despair. I’d never wanted a bottle of booze…
Dinosaurs and their avian descendants reign supreme at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
“All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!” “Yeah, but, John, if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.” The Jeff Goldblums of the world can rest easy, because unlike Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs featured at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History…
Gallery Los Olivos showcases plein-air and studio paintings from local pastel artists
There are plenty of external antagonists for Santa Barbara-based artist Kris Buck to consider before she sets out on one of her plein-air adventures—but a disruptive phone call isn’t one of them. “The cellphone is silent. There are no distractions except whatever Mother Nature throws our way—bugs, snakes, wind, fog, heat, cold, gopher holes, etc.,”…
Solvang Antiques showcases oil paintings by Dirk Foslien
Solvang Antiques will host oil painter Dirk Foslien as part of the gallery’s Summer Art Series, starting Wednesday, July 17, with a Champagne reception from 2 to 6 p.m. Featured works include both still life pieces and landscapes, most of which depict local poppy fields and oak trees. Growing up, Foslien first became interested in…
Wildling Museum exhibit highlights California national parks, monuments
Celebrating the National Lands of California, a new juried exhibition at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang, opens Saturday, July 20. The exhibit features 63 artworks selected from 316 entries submitted by artists across the U.S., competing for a pool of $4,000 in cash prizes. First-, second-, and third-place winners will be…
Clay Walker, TLC, and Maddie & Tae headline the Santa Barbara County Fair
Dancing to live music is fun and all, but riding a roller coaster to live music is next-level euphoria. I’m not sure what the exact layout of this year’s Santa Barbara County Fair is, but past years have offered more than a few rides in the vicinity of the KCOY Main Stage—making it feasible for…
Political Watch: July 11, 2019
• On June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion blocking a controversial question asking for a person’s citizenship status from appearing on the 2020 census. Many critics of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s plan to add this question believed it would prevent immigrants from participating in the census because of the fear of…
Correction
In the Sun’s Winning Images cover story (June 20), Barry Goyette’s photograph, Gail, in the People category was incorrectly captioned. The image won 3rd place.
CANARY: 55 nonfiction
New Times and the Sun have brought you reader-submitted stories for the annual 55 Fiction contest. Each year, hundreds of entries come from all over the coast and world. This year I’m joining in on the fun, in hopes of pissing off the masses with fewer words than ever before. Sex offenders’ advocates? Here’s a…
Ignore bogus reports
Please stop quoting the State Parks’ 2017 bogus Economic Impact Report. There has never been an independent, unbiased study of the financial impacts of the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area! The deceptive “report” issued by State Parks was conducted by a marketing firm, SMG Consulting, whose president is a self-proclaimed “adventure motorcycle rider.” The…
Put safety first in Oceano
On July 11 in SLO, the California Coastal Commission will discuss the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area permit and transitioning the park to passive uses that don’t harm the environment and our communities. A study is being trotted out to prop up the position that without off-roading, the local economy would crash. This is…
It comes down to respect
I always look for the new edition of the Sun Thursday afternoons in the Village Center and was wondering why after three days the news rack still was bare. So Saturday I drove around to see where if anywhere was the Sun. I finally located some and wondered if it was the “Pride” front page…
Dems should care about this country
Thank you, New York. You have given us one of the loudest, most arrogant representatives to serve in Congress. She lacks common sense and has absolutely no scruples about leaving the truth far behind when she comments on everything and anything. Who, you ask? AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). Her latest fabrication is that Border Patrol agents…
Hobnobbing with Helen is sorely missed
I was saddened to learn that Helen Thomas’ June 27 Hobnobbing With Helen column would be her last. I have been a member, volunteer, and board member of local nonprofits for over 20 years and Helen Thomas was a welcome and valuable contributor to all of them. Her smile, notebook, and camera were ubiquitous, a…
