On Sept. 5 about 60 people lined the sidewalk in front of Rancho Bowl and Lounge in Santa Maria to show their support for the business and rally to reopen the family-friendly entertainment center. Back Alley Pro owners Richard and Norma Cunningham were in the crowd. The professional bowlers shop is inside Rancho Bowl. The […]
KAREN GARCIA
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Santa Barbara County meets halfway mark for reducing youth homelessness
More than halfway through the 100-day challenge to reduce youth homelessness, local groups and stakeholders have already met some of the program’s goals. On June 29, Santa Barbara County was one of six counties chosen to participate in the challenge—the others are Kings, Tulare, Monterey, San Benito, and San Bernardino counties. Each area has specific […]
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The Goat Girls provide target grazing services throughout SLO County.
“Goat girl” was a nickname that Beth Reynolds loathed. She received that moniker when she was in college working with goats at Cal Poly as part of her senior project in 2003. The project focused on the service goats provide to manage vegetation—aka targeted grazing, which involves accomplishing vegetation or landscaping goals by using a […]
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Solvang denies Doubletree Carriages application amid pressure from out-of-state residents
The Solvang City Council denied Doubletree Carriages’ application for a horse-drawn conveyance license, stating that some of the streets downtown were closed to accommodate businesses for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The council asked for community input on the horse-drawn carriages after receiving comments that called on the city to ban the service altogether. […]
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Farmworkers in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties remain vulnerable as the COVID-19 crisis continues
After five months of living with the pandemic, farmworker advocates say that agricultural employees, which the state considers to be essential workers, continue to be vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. At the start of the pandemic, the main concern was getting enough personal protective equipment for farmworkers and getting local public health information to Spanish and […]
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Solvang City Council member recall goes to November ballot
At the Aug. 18 Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting, the board voted to approve a certificate of sufficient signatures for the petition to recall Solvang City Council Member Chris Djernaes. Supervisors also approved putting the recall vote on the Nov. 3 ballot. The action came four weeks after the July 27 Solvang City […]
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Solvang talks parking concerns amid Copenhagen closure
The city of Solvang revisited the Copenhagen Drive closure at its Aug. 10 meeting to hear residents’ concerns about the closure, positive feedback from tourists, and discuss recommendations for a long-term program for businesses. Residents and businesses stated that their main issue with the closure is that there isn’t enough available parking—or not enough disabled […]
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Solvang accepts branding committee applications
On July 27, Solvang announced it was beginning the recruitment process for the new Branding & Design Committee, which is replacing the Solvang Board of Architectural Review (BAR). The committee of five’s first task will be to create design guidelines for the long-term Copenhagen Drive Street closure, City Manager Xenia Bradford told the Sun. The […]
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Central Coast residents have opposing views on the novel coronavirus
It started on March 2 with a slight tickle in Susan Robinson’s throat. Six days later, both she and her husband, Dave Robinson, started to feel sick. Their symptoms included fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle aches, and rough coughing, and Susan said she had abdominal pain. Susan, a retired gynecologist, had a pulse oximeter in […]
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Local organizations work to get COVID-19 updates to non-English speaking residents
March 17 was the first time the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department conducted a press briefing via Facebook Live regarding the coronavirus. It was entirely in English. Latino Outreach Council of San Luis Obispo County CEO Jaqueline del Valle Frederick said the nonprofit is concerned that there isn’t enough direct communication in Spanish […]
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Outdoor educational programs in SLO County focus on environmental literacy
Editor’s note: Schools and school programs throughout the state—including the Central Coast’s environmental education programs—are closed as of March 13 in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the values behind these programs remain an asset for local teachers, schools, and children to look forward to once the programs resume. As of press time, […]
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District 17 State Senate seat down to Laird, Nohrden
Unofficial election results across San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties—state Senate District 17—show Democratic candidate John Laird and Republican candidate Vicki Nohrden will now face off in November for the seat. Laird told New Times that he didn’t have a party to watch the election results trickle in on March […]