Not long after showing up to his cubicle for an 8 a.m. shift on Sept. 15, engineering technician Cole Phillips hit the pavement with around 30 other unionized Solvang employees to participate in the first labor strike of its kind in city history. Before heading out that morning to protest the City Council’s recent handling […]
Caleb Wiseblood
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Tie vote blocks Lompoc from censuring Steve Bridge
Three hours into the Lompoc City Council’s Sept. 15 meeting, Councilmember Steve Bridge asked his peers to remember the oath they recite in unison ahead of every agenda. It’s the same oath many schoolchildren have already memorized by kindergarten. “We started today the way we start every meeting. We stood up and said the words—the […]
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County opposes eminent domain legislation for Sable pipeline
Nostalgia surfaced in statements from U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), when he recently spoke before the dais he once sat on. “It’s always nice to be back,” Carbajal said during public comment at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ Sept. 22 meeting. “Although I certainly wish it was under happier circumstances.” Carbajal was […]
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Political Watch: September 24, 2026
•On Sept. 20, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1261, legislation drafted by State Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) to support certain critical services for older adults and people with disabilities amid ongoing regional program transitions. According to Laird’s office, without SB 1261, the Service Area 17 Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC), which serves […]
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Santa Maria High School celebrates Athletic Hall of Fame inductees
Every year since 2023, student athletes and coaches of decades past are ranked in a point system to determine who gets added to Santa Maria High School’s Hall of Fame. With dozens of nomination submissions to narrow down each year, it’s up to the school’s hall of fame committee members to draft their top picks, […]
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Farm to tax table: County supervisors erase Lompoc farm’s five-figure tax debt for farmstay operation
Laying a Lompoc egg farm’s tax appeal to rest recently divided local officials, who simmered over the issue across two lengthy hearings this summer. The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ reception to Dare 2 Dream Farms’ plea to forgive about $65,000 in unpaid taxes was nearly split down the middle before a 3-2 vote […]
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Guadalupe caps stipends for next year’s council at $150
What began as a hearing for Guadalupe’s leaders to consider decreasing the monthly pay for seven elected roles by $300 each ended with more reductions—including a $600 cut for the mayor. “It’s not because you guys don’t do a lot. You guys have a lot on your plate, obviously,” City Administrator David Trujillo told the […]
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Santa Maria court bomber pleads guilty
The 22-year-old man arrested for detonating a bomb inside of a Santa Maria courthouse pleaded guilty to the crime, about one week shy of the incident’s two-year anniversary. As part of a recent plea agreement, Nathaniel James McGuire admitted that he walked into Santa Barbara County Superior Court’s Santa Maria division on Sept. 24, 2024, […]
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Political Watch: September 17, 2026
•U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) were among the co-signers behind a recent amicus brief in California v. Wright. This pending case in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California challenges the Trump administration’s use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to facilitate the restart of the […]
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Up in arms: County looks at revising gun shop zoning in unincorporated areas
Stationed at his cash register behind a jar of orange foam earplugs, the manager of Get R Gun in Santa Maria doesn’t agree with Santa Barbara County’s newest policy on firearms. He believes the recent action raises more red flags than the local controversy that triggered it. “We didn’t see a problem with Goodland Guns,” […]
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County considers new solar, battery project standards
Santa Barbara County is one step closer to adopting new requirements for solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects. Set for the Board of Supervisors’ second and final reading in late September, a policy package to amend multiple county ordinances for consistency with proposed standards addresses battery units of various sizes—ranging from industrial BESS […]
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Buellton motel seeks relief for long-term tenants weeks ahead of housing ban
An ongoing lawsuit prompted a two-month grace period for long-term tenants of Buellton’s Farmhouse Motel, before new housing restrictions kick in. While a recent city ordinance to help ramp up redevelopment efforts in town requires motel properties along Avenue of Flags—including Farmhouse—to convert units that house long-term renters to traditional motel rooms by October, a […]
