Cover Story
A local wind port may be the key to capturing the economic boost of offshore wind projects, but some are skeptical that it’s feasible
The Central Coast has the green light from the federal government to develop wind energy off the coast of Morro Bay, and lease auctions are opening up this year. But how much the local economy will benefit from such a project is still unclear—and the answer depends on the feasibility of a local port. “Last…
BINGEABLE: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (2021-present)
BINGEABLE: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (2021-present) Where’s it playing? Hulu What’s it rated? TV-PG Creator Quinta Brunson stars in the mockumentary TV series Abbott Elementary—starting its second season on March 22—that follows the challenges of budget-strapped inner city elementary school in Philadelphia. Set up like The Office (2005-2013), an unseen documentary camera crew follows the dedicated teachers…
BINGEABLE: WOLF LIKE ME (2022)
BINGEABLE: WOLF LIKE ME (2022) Where’s it playing? Peacock What’s it rated? TV-MA This Peacock original series brings together funny people Josh Gad and Isla Fisher in a kooky rom-com series that follows the beginning of a relationship between two people who each have their own freighter-sized amount of baggage. Gary (Gad) is a single…
A Parisian pub brings two geniuses together in Orcutt Community Theater’s latest production, ‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’
Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso walk into a bar. This scenario isn’t the start of a joke, but it originated with someone who tells jokes for a living. Central Coast local Dan Bullard described his choice to direct a new production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile as “a very easy decision,” based on his…
Get your fill of foodie festivities at the Buellton Wine and Chili Festival
More than 20 all-you-can-taste options await guests of the Buellton Wine and Chili Festival. Sampling every different chili will give festivalgoers more than their money’s worth, but nobody’s gonna stop anyone from going all-in on their favorite. “You get to walk around and try everyone’s chili. If you really like a chili, you can keep…
Solvang Planning Commission finalizes recommendations on backyard sheds
Solvang’s long-debated stance on backyard sheds now rests with the City Council to decide, as the Planning Commission recently passed along its proposal. In October 2021, the City Council asked the Planning Commission to provide recommended revisions to Solvang’s municipal code, due to multiple complaints regarding the city’s current laws on rear-yard and side-yard sheds.…
Potential Santa Maria redistricting map promotes accessibility
Santa Maria could be looking at a future where City Council members are chosen based on the city’s classic dividing lines: Main Street and Broadway. The city’s voters starting electing candidates from the districts they lived in during the 2018 election, and now Santa Maria’s adopting new district boundaries based on the 2020 census—a data…
The Santa Maria Women’s March comes back together for its first in-person celebration in two years
Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” inspired Lata Murti and fellow Women’s March Santa Maria Valley planning committee members for this year’s women’s march: Still, We Rise. “It’s also inspired by the fact that women all over the world are always rising up against injustices, and part of what identifying as a woman [means is]…
Santa Barbara County Fire announces new Orcutt station
Emergency and fire response times in Orcutt could improve in the future as the Santa Barbara County Fire Department begins the process of adding a new fire station in the unicorporated area. Fire Chief Mark Hartwig and county 5th District Supervisor Bob Nelson hosted a community meeting on March 1 at the proposed site for…
Political Watch: March 10, 2022
• The Santa Barbara County Democratic Party announced it was endorsing Santa Barbara Unified School District Trustee Laura Capps for Santa Barbara County 2nd District Supervisor, according to a March 3 statement from party chair Darcél Elliott. “We are proud to endorse Laura Capps’ campaign for 2nd District county supervisor. During her service on the…
Santa Maria BMX racetrack brings back fond memories of home
I was feeling nostalgic for my hometown of Santa Maria and thinking of all the things that my family left behind and found your paper’s 2015 article on the Santa Maria BMX track (“Trick-less speed: Santa Maria BMX racing is alive and well,” March 31, 2015). My father and our family built that track back…
History repeats
In a contest between squiggly lines or straight lines, will the straight lines win? It’s definitely possible in Santa Maria, where the City Council and residents seem to favor a redistricting map that divides the city into the four quadrants that have always divided the city—along Main Street and Broadway. Those two roads divide so…
Lompoc needs to limit its cannabis retail/dispensary permits and ensure operators pay all applicable fees
When the city of Lompoc considered licensing the manufacturing, distribution, sale, and on-site consumption of cannabis in our city, the subject of how many permits to issue was discussed. If our City Council would have bothered to listen to the information presented by the staff when this issue was decided, they would have understood that…
Local filmmakers behind ‘FireStorm ’77’ to appear at upcoming Q-and-A and screening
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is hosting a screening of a locally produced, feature-length documentary, FireStorm ’77, on Friday, March 11, at 2:20 p.m., at the Metro 4 Theatre in Santa Barbara. The award-winning documentary examines the history of the Honda Canyon Fire and was shot, directed, and co-edited by Christopher Hite, a…
Allan Hancock College’s dance program holds folklórico performances
Performances of a new folklórico production, hosted by Allan Hancock College’s dance program, will be held at the Ethel Pope Auditorium in Santa Maria on March 10, 11, and 12 at 7 p.m. each evening. The show will include both traditional and contemporary takes on folklórico dance styles from a variety of different regions in…
Wildling Museum seeks entries for Earth Day poetry competition
The deadline to enter the Wildling Museum’s second annual Earth Day poetry competition, Climate Change: Our Impact, is Monday, March 21, at 5 p.m. Santa Barbara County residents of all ages are welcome to submit poems that “interpret the effects of climate change and our role in a variety of ways,” according the museum. Submissions…
