Some motels along Buellton’s Avenue of Flags gradually evolved into offering long-term housing without city permission over the past two decades, City Manager Scott Wolfe recently told the Planning Commission. Wolfe also described the motel conversion trend as contradicting the city’s vision for the area as a commercial corridor, which is outlined in the Avenue […]
Caleb Wiseblood
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Political Watch: July 24, 2025
•Retired U.S. Navy commander and California District 24 candidate for congress Bob Smith issued a statement on July 15 regarding the July 10 ICE raids at Glass House Farms sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo. Smith credited reports from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with info on the raids he summarized. While executing federal warrants […]
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Vacancy: Whoever wins Buellton’s upcoming special election will help decide what Parks Plaza will become
In the final weeks of his first term as a Buellton City Council member, Dave King lost his 2012 re-election campaign and gained something he “wouldn’t have traded for anything.” It was a new job he couldn’t have accepted if he remained on the dais. “That was kind of a godsend to me,” said King, […]
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Lompoc police apprehend alleged serial shoplifter of Ulta merch worth $150,000-plus
Suspected of multiple thefts at Ulta Beauty branches across the country, Jennifer Hurtado was recently arrested in Lompoc for allegedly stealing more than $7,000 worth of cosmetics from three different Central Coast stores. According to a July 10 statement from the Lompoc Police Department, Ulta Beauty management told local authorities that Hurtado is linked to […]
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County supervisors comment on recent ICE activity across the Central Coast
Santa Barbara County supervisors echoed one mutual frustration while discussing the July 10 ICE raids at Glass House Farms sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo: a lack of information. “I think this the first time in 15 years that I don’t even know who to go to for information. That’s the scary thing,” 5th District Supervisor […]
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Political Watch: July 17, 2025
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) released a statement about the July 10 ICE raid in Carpinteria. “Today, I was at Casitas Pass Road in Carpinteria where ICE was conducting a raid using disproportionate displays of force against local farmworkers and our agricultural community,” Carbajal said in his statement. “As a member of Congress […]
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Unroll your yoga mats at CalNAM for a multi-sensory mindfulness experience
Trees and mountains come in many forms at Solvang’s California Nature Art Museum (CalNAM). Paintings. Photographs. Yoga poses. Unlike the various artworks that occupy the museum’s walls, Santa Ynez-based yoga instructor Lori Shirran’s new program takes up the two-story venue’s floorspace. “Right now we’re in the upper gallery. Depending on the number of participants—when we […]
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Madre Fire consumes 80,000-plus acres across the Cuyama Valley
It took less than a day for a wildfire near New Cuyama to grow into California’s largest of the year by acreage so far. While the cause of the Madre Fire remains under investigation, fire officials traced back its point of origin to the early afternoon of July 2, along Highway 166 in the Cuyama […]
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Santa Barbara County ag grosses $2 billion in 2024
Nearly half of Santa Barbara County’s ag gross revenue for 2024 stems from a single fruit. According to the county Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, strawberry producers raked in $860 million last year. That’s more than 40 percent of the county’s total gross production value—which the department’s 2024 crop and livestock report listed as approximately $2.01 billion. […]
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Political Watch: July 10, 2025
• On July 3, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) released a statement on the passage of the Republican reconciliation bill. Carbajal voted against the bill, while opposing its unprecedented cuts to essential programs like Medicaid and food assistance, according to Carbajal’s office. In his statement, Carbajal said the bill “puts billionaires first and working […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Outdoor Kitchen: Groundstar Vineyard shines a light on regenerative farming—and Vandenberg’s “small but mighty” native flower
When the time came for first-time vineyard operator Chiara Shannon to name her new business venture, she simply looked toward the stars. Not the kind of stars astronomers study, although these ones do neighbor some local rocket launch facilities. “I sound a little spiritual when I say this, but, … I feel like this is […]
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Trailblazing: Discover Lompoc’s 30-plus outdoor art murals scattered across the city
The Central Coast’s city of arts and flowers is an apropos destination for lovers of both varieties. The two categories found in Lompoc’s nickname often intertwine with one another, too, during long-standing traditions like the annual Flower Festival and Parade, for example. Finding art in general—whether it depicts flowers, people, Vandenberg Space Force Base’s rockets, […]
