Solvang-area residents continue clashing over greenhouse project, Board of Supervisors asks for environmental review
A battle between neighbors over whether one landowner should be allowed to build a greenhouse just north of Solvang rages on, despite the project being unanimously denied by the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission in October 2020. Steve Decker, who wants to build a nearly 16,000-square-foot greenhouse on his agriculturally zoned land, was initially successful…
February marked the debut of Trattoria Uliveto’s new spacious patio setting in Old Town Orcutt
“I’m going to be honest with you, even when they let us back inside, we might just stay outside,” said Alfonso Curti, chef and co-owner of Trattoria Uliveto, which recently unveiled its new patio space for outdoor dining. Following a steady lunch rush, and a successful dinner service the night prior, Curti sounded enthusiastic during…
Cupid’s arrow points to the recently reopened Santa Barbara Zoo for a Valentine’s Day adventure
A few clicks and a debit card number hold my online reservation for two at the Santa Barbara Zoo, which officially reopened to the public on Jan. 30. But today happens to be Feb. 14. I’m taking my valentine out on a daring day trip to said zoo, and we’re not going home until we…
Gallery Los Olivos holds new duo show, Color and Light, with Vicki Andersen and Neil Andersson
Gallery Los Olivos presents Color and Light, a new duo exhibition showcasing oil and acrylic paintings by local artists Vicki Andersen (whose work is pictured above) and Neil Andersson. The show is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, March 4, and remain on display through Monday, March 29. For more info on the exhibit and other…
Sojourner Kincaid Rolle to judge the Wildling Museum’s Earth Day Poetry Contest
The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang is inviting residents of Santa Barbara County to enter its Earth Day Poetry Contest. Submissions are due no later than Monday, March 22, by 5 p.m. Under the contest’s theme of Why Earth Day Matters, participants of the competition are asked to interpret the importance of…
Greenhouse politics
Who knew building a greenhouse on agriculturally zoned land could be so controversial? Ooh, pick me! Pick me! It’s definitely not surprising that the same county that brought you years of discussion over whether or not hoop houses should be allowed over a nice view from Highway 101 is the same county in which a…
Santa Maria’s new user fee study sheds light on city operations, expenses
We believe that Santa Maria residents and customers appreciate understanding where their hard-earned money goes for city services. And we sometimes hear that government should be run more like a business. You are invited to learn more about a new city user fee analysis that ties these principles together. The city is sharing with its…
Is Lompoc’s water quality in danger because of homeless camps?
On Feb. 2, the Lompoc city manager tried to justify using fees collected to operate and maintain the drinking water utility to pay for homeless camp cleanups in the riverbed by saying that “funding the ongoing costs for cleanup and patrolling from the water enterprise fund would be a legitimate use” because the homeless population…
Political Watch: February 25, 2021
• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Feb. 17 that he along with Senate President Pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) reached an agreement on a package of relief actions for Californians struggling from pandemic-inflicted economic hardship. “The compromise builds on the initiatives in the governor’s state budget proposal…
Farmworkers receive payment as part of settlement agreement
Months after a farmworker strike ended in alleged employer retaliation and an ensuing investigation by the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB), more than 200 farmworkers received compensation on Feb. 21 as part of an informal settlement agreement with their employer, Rancho Laguna Farms. The dispute started in May 2020, when Rancho Laguna farmworkers went…
Solvang approves regulations for sidewalk vendors without community input
Solvang adopted rules for future sidewalk vendors during a Feb. 22 City Council meeting, citing sidewalk accessibility and social distancing concerns, but the decision lacked public feedback. City Manager Xenia Bradford said she proposed the regulations as an urgency ordinance because the city’s current sidewalk vendor code doesn’t comply with Senate Bill 946, which went…
New state guidelines allow for youth sports return
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released new guidance on returning to competition for youth and recreational adult sports, but Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham believes it should have happened a lot sooner. The guidelines, which take effect beginning Feb. 26, categorize sports based on the level of contact between participants. Low contact sports are those…
County approves second phase of plan to address homelessness
A recent conversation regarding Santa Barbara County’s efforts to address homelessness repeatedly came back to the area’s lack of affordable housing and its struggles to keep up with growing homeless encampments. At a special meeting on Feb. 23, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the second phase of its Community Action Plan…
Painted rocks bring the community together in Nipomo
Before the pandemic hit, Nipomo resident Lynn Borges had an abundant social and work life. Despite her age—she describes herself only as “old, old, old”—Borges kept herself busy with two part-time jobs, attended art classes through an adult education program twice a week, and she’d often spend afternoons with her grandkids after picking them up…
