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Health & Wellness 2023
Health and Wellness isn’t just about exercise and diets, it’s also about accessing medical health care and knowing how to protect your body. But not everyone knows how to obtain preventative care, and youth don’t necessarily graduate from high school with the information they need to understand sex or the proper ways to safeguard themselves.…
Lompoc still uncertain about continuing county Animal Services contract
Although the Lompoc City Council was thrilled to see an Animal Services facility reopened in the city, it still wanted more research into whether contracting with Santa Barbara County was the best option for service. “I was really disheartened and disappointed when the shelter closed. There was no notification, and I do feel like the…
Solvang City Council appointment divides public, elected officials
During its first meeting of 2023, the Solvang City Council discussed how to approach the seat left vacant by newly elected Mayor Mark Infanti, as two years remain on his City Council member term. On Jan. 12, the council voted to appoint former City Councilmember Robert Clarke, who lost his 2022 reelection campaign, to fill…
Residents want better outreach for Santa Maria annexation project
Mooncrest Lane resident Susan Bryant left a project hearing about a proposed development in her neighborhood unsettled and confused. “Overall I think it’s fair to say that people were frustrated and angry,” the Orcutt resident said. “I think the frustration was not knowing about [the hearing]. The anger was there were questions that didn’t get…
A Santa Ynez Valley resident founded a program to help adults talk about sexual health with their children
Sexual health education is often an uncomfortable topic to address, one that can be surrounded with stigma and shame, said Trish Hecker. So she stepped into the gap and founded Open Door Support, a program that helps parents engage with their kids on the topic. “For generations, sexual health in relation to how our body…
Political Watch: January 26, 2023
• Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office is reprioritizing its groundwater recharge, stormwater capture, and reservoir storage efforts, along with water conveyance improvements and ambitious targets to build water resilience, according to a Jan. 19 statement from the governor’s office. The state has committed more than $8.6 million to build water resilience in the last two budgets,…
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center holds annual walk dedicated to ‘California’s Gold’ host
On Feb. 11, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center is inviting the public to join a docent-led walk at Oso Flaco Lake that will retrace the steps of California’s Gold host Huell Howser, who explored the site during an episode of his show in 2003. The walk is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Attendees will journey…
Drawing805 founder puts a cosmic twist on new butterfly mural
When it comes to public art, “less is more” rarely rings true, local artist Luis Linares believes. “I see a lot of white walls that need to be filled with art,” said Linares, who likes to keep an eye out for buildings in Santa Maria with enough blank space to fit a mural or two.…
Curiouser and curiouser
The Jan. 23 Solvang City Council meeting was awkward. Awkward with a capital AWKWARD. Newly elected City Councilmember Elizabeth Orona had to share the dais with the person she beat out to claim her seat on the city’s governing body. Why? Because her fellow council peeps voted to appoint that loser to fill a seat…
New bills are not gifts
Our state elected representatives are at it again, producing a blizzard of new bills. Just who of everyday Joes on the streets is going to know anything about any of these? These bills are for the biggest paying supporters or the biggest attention getters. Most of these bills are “penny dreadful” junk bills. The basic…
Lompoc has 200 unhoused people, largely thanks to government ‘helping hands’
I have been trying to figure out the “root cause” and some potential solutions for the homeless issue for the last several months. First, the “homeless issue” has been with us since homeless pilgrims arrived on our eastern shores in 1620. The difference today is that in 1620, “homeless” folks homesteaded land and built not…
Lompoc libraries seek local artists for upcoming exhibits
Local artists are encouraged to submit works for consideration to be showcased at the Vandenberg Village Library and the Grossman Gallery, located inside the Lompoc Public Library. Past featured artists at the Grossman Gallery include oil painter Elizabeth Monks Hack (whose work is pictured). Artist applicants are required to submit at least six exhibit-ready pieces,…
Multiple businesses compete in Santa Maria Valley’s 2023 Craft Cocktail Contest
The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce is asking the public to get out and vote—but not, in this case, for any politicians whom their ideologies happen to align with. The 2022 election season is over, but the voting period for Santa Maria’s 2023 Craft Cocktail Contest began in mid-January. Through Feb. 12, Central Coast…
