•Gov. Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill 1448—authored by Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara)—on Sept. 29. This legislation prohibits the use of existing oil infrastructure in state waters to support new offshore oil drilling in federal waters. Hart’s office described the bill as the product of two years of collaboration with community stakeholders and statewide ocean […]
Caleb Wiseblood
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Mobile hat bar Flame Kissed puts down roots in Los Olivos
Upon opening her new hat shop in September, Flame Kissed founder Natascha Ruiz installed a curtain to cover a vacant door frame that leads to the venue’s storage room. Ruiz felt giggly about repurposing that curtain, leaving it as an inside joke for those familiar with the Los Olivos video store that once graced 2922 […]
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Unfinished business: Stalled hotel construction in Solvang remains inactive amid yearlong litigation
More than a year after Solvang red-tagged his unfinished hotel, Ed St. George said he has no intention of raising a white flag over the dormant development. “We’re already 90 percent done. If we were 40 percent done, I would be willing to tear it down. But we are literally 90 percent done,” the developer […]
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Solvang Teamsters strike moves into third week
Two weeks into the first city employee strike in Solvang’s history, labor negotiators met in closed session with the City Council on Sept. 28. The following morning, Solvang’s unionized members of Teamsters Local 986 made good on their word to remain on strike until the city offers a contract they agree to ratify. “The strike […]
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Buellton spots food truck gap in zoning rules
On average, Buellton allows food trucks to set up shop within city limits between three to five times a year, according to Planning Director Andrea Keefer. It’s no coincidence, she told the City Council, that those rare sightings align with Buellton’s Fall Festival, Wine and Chili Festival, and other annual gatherings. “The city does not […]
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Political Watch: October 1, 2026
•On Sept. 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill with more than $66 million in federal funds for Central Coast-based water projects. “Now that the House has passed the Water Resources Development Act, this bill is heading to the Senate carrying key investments I secured for our local infrastructure,” U.S. Rep. Salud […]
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No deal: Solvang staffers strike after rejecting City Council’s ‘last, best, and final’ pay raise offer
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 […]
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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 […]
