Cover Story
As violent crime continues to fluctuate in Lompoc, the city and local organizations say being proactive is the way forward
Compared to 2019, 2020 was a relatively good year for crime in Lompoc. According to 2019 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and 2020 data from the Lompoc Police Department, murders ticked down from seven in 2019 to four in 2020. While total assaults went up, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults all…
TV REVIEW: WARRIOR
TV REVIEW: WARRIOR Where’s it playing? HBO Max What’s it rated? TV-MA Andrew Koji stars as Ah Sahm, a Chinese martial arts prodigy who travels to San Francisco in the late 1800s in search of his sister, Xiaojing (Dianne Doan), who immigrated years earlier and is now known as Mai Ling, wife of Long Zii…
Sear Steakhouse in Solvang celebrates grand opening with Lompoc chef Erik Dandee at the helm
From Vancouver, Washington, to Portland, Oregon, chef Erik Dandee has made a name for himself in more than a few cities along the West Coast during his career of nearly two decades. He and his wife were living in Palm Springs when a rare (the pun will make sense in a bit) opportunity attracted them…
Lompoc painters Vicki Andersen and Neil Andersson collaborate on new duo show, Color and Light, at Gallery Los Olivos
Vicki Andersen and Neil Andersson have more in common than a last name (albeit one that’s spelled differently between the two artists). Although they differ from one another in style and media—Andersen prefers to use acrylics, while Andersson usually paints with oils—they share a mutual interest in exploring the relationship between color and light within…
Santa Maria Public Library, Orcutt Branch Library offer St. Patrick’s Day-themed crafting kits for adults
In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, the Santa Maria Public Library and Orcutt Branch Library will offer a limited number of holiday-themed craft projects for adults (ages 18 and over). The free crafting kits will be available for pickup at both libraries Monday, March 15, through Saturday, March 20. Pre-registration is required for kits at…
Lompoc Theatre Project to stream live fundraiser and variety show, ‘The Show Must Go On’
The Lompoc Theatre Project (LTP) presents The Show Must Go On, a virtual variety show to benefit the restoration of the historic Lompoc Theatre, which will stream live through Facebook on Friday, March 26, from 6 to about 8:30 p.m. Hosted by Mark Herrier, LTP’s executive director, this fundraiser will include a variety of musical…
Bridge too far?
If COVID-19 has shown us anything (and it’s actually shown us a lot of things), it’s that people are hustlers. Put between a rock and a hard place—in this case COVID-19 pandemic job losses—people do what they have to do! Yeah! Take making food at home and selling it to people who prefer not to…
Thank you, Rep. Carbajal
The Wilderness Act called for “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” In 1964, it was one of three pieces of legislation—along with the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act—that essentially determined what kind of country we…
Is relying entirely on renewable energy a good idea?
Renewable energy has been the poster child for politicians and celebrity personages for the last few years to replace fossil fuel energy sources. In their quest to rid the Earth of the well-paying, job-producing, general-fund pot-of-gold fossil fuel industry, they think that solar/wind power is the answer. The primary justification for their concern is that…
Political Watch: March 11, 2021
• On March 5, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $6.6 billion package to accelerate the return to in-person instruction in California. According to Newsom’s office, the funding will support safety measures and “expanded learning opportunities such as summer school, tutoring, and mental health services.” The legislation also affirms the state’s commitment to reserving 10 percent…
Santa Maria considers new fee structure for city services
Santa Maria is considering a new fee structure for city services, and it wants to hear from residents and educate the public about what such a change would mean for the community. The city contracted with a third party consultant to prepare an objective, year-long, user fee study. It reveals how much Santa Maria would…
Solvang begins to rebuild its staff and services
Currently operating with a bare-bones staff, Solvang City Manager Xenia Bradford thinks projected increases in transient occupancy tax (TOT) could be a way to rebuild the city’s staff. During the March 8 City Council meeting Bradford said there haven’t been any complaints in terms of processing requests or services during the pandemic, however, the turnaround…
Supervisors vote to continue outreach, discussion on home kitchens
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has yet to decide whether to legalize home kitchen operations after hearing community feedback at its last meeting. The board voted March 9 to continue the discussion around a proposed ordinance that would legalize microenterprise home kitchen operations. While most board members spoke in support of the ordinance,…
Redistricting Commission hires Strumwasser & Woocher amid threat of lawsuit
A petition aimed at blocking the hire of an attorney chosen to represent Santa Barbara County’s Citizens’ Independent Redistricting Commission proved unsuccessful in court on March 9, despite concerns that the attorney in question doesn’t qualify for the job. The Coalition of Labor, Agriculture, and Business (COLAB) filed a petition in the Superior Court…
Marian Regional Medical Center acquires lung-healing technology that saved local COVID-19 patient’s life
Last April, Santa Maria resident Louis Meza was tasked with a harrowing decision: Whether or not to have his wife, Melissa Meza, transferred to an LA County hospital to treat her worsening complications from COVID-19. The treatment, being placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, was Melissa’s “last hope,” Louis told the Sun nearly…
