Tackling overcrowded local high school classrooms is one major issue for those running to fill seats on the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District board. In 2024, the district’s bond measure aimed at building a new high school to address the issue didn’t receive enough votes to pass. Diana Perez, who’s running for the […]
Madison White
Posted inNews
California grants $2 million to the future Santa Ynez Valley Children’s Museum
Dave Bemis has volunteered with many nonprofits in his life, but never at a start-up like the Santa Ynez Valley Children’s Museum. He experienced new challenges in his role as the president of the board. “It’s hard to recruit people and to raise money for something that doesn’t exist yet. It’s hard to explain to […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
A little magic: LARPing creates community, fun, and fantasy in Santa Maria
For everybodyAll are welcome to watch from the sidelines or spring into battle with Watchers Keep on the first and third Sundays of the month at Rotary Centennial Park. Get your live-action role-playing on from noon to 4 p.m. at 2625 S. College Drive in Santa Maria. See @watcherskeepamtgard on Instagram for behind-the-scenes clips and brush […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Tribute act pays homage to The Rolling Stones in Santa Ynez
Jumping Jack Flash, a tribute to The Rolling Stones, will perform at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez on Friday, Oct. 16. The show starts at 8 p.m., inside the casino’s Samala Showroom. Admission to the concert is $25. According to the casino, attendees can look forward to hearing some of The Rolling Stones’ […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Crumbles Café champions weekly jazz in Santa Maria
A weekly series at Crumbles Café & Bake Shop in Santa Maria promises patrons a couple of hours of live music every week to enjoy with their late lunch, early dinner, dessert, or coffee. Every Saturday, between 2 and 4 p.m., the café hosts a live jazz act. Upcoming acts in the series include the […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
NatureTrack screens polar bear doc in Los Olivos
The eighth annual NatureTrack Film Festival presents a screening of Frost Without Snow and Ice on Friday, Nov. 6, at the Santa Ynez Valley Grange Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m. The documentary follows a polar bear struggling to raise her cubs in Svalbard, regarded as the fastest-warming place on earth due to climate change. […]
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Police use drones as first responders in Lompoc
Two Flock Safety drones launching from the roof of the Lompoc Police Department have been responding to emergencies in the city since August. The extra eyes in the air help officers locate subjects and navigate difficult terrain within a 3-mile radius of the station. “I think it’s been helpful in multiple cases,” Community Services Sgt. […]
Posted inArts
One of Fossemalle Dance Studio’s first students returns as a teacher
The Fossemalle familyTap right into Fossemalle Dance Studio, located at 3595 Numancia St. in Santa Ynez. Call (805) 688-8494 for information about dance classes or visit fossemalledancestudio.com. Sarah Longoria has spent much of her life in a dance studio. Growing up in Solvang, she remembers putting on a pink petal-sleeved leotard for the first time […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria Civic Theatre delivers spooky season vibes with a new musical
A half-boy, half-bat creature is the star of the latest community theater production in Santa Maria. Bat Boy: The Musical hits the Santa Maria Civic Theatre stage on Oct. 9. The cult classic follows Bat Boy, who was found in a cave and taken in by a family in small-town West Virginia. “As he struggles […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Get a bird’s-eye view of the Channel Islands with a Santa Ynez author
Paul Collins, the primary author of a guide to Channel Island birds, is giving a lecture and signing copies of his book in Los Olivos on Oct. 14. Join the researcher at St. Mark’s in the Valley Episcopal Church from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for an evening of lively conversation about the avifauna Collins covered […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Glasrose hits one year of selling its nonalcoholic sparkling verjus
Verjus for you?To learn more about verjus and how to purchase a bottle made by Glasrose, visit glasrose.com. Follow along on Instagram @glasrosefarm for content about the founders’ sober lifestyle on the vineyard estate. Sara Hershkowitz and Max Hoetzel went on precisely one date before COVID-19 shut the world down. She was living in Germany, […]
Posted inNews
Despite parking concerns, Guadalupe City Council unanimously approves new housing
Builders got a green light to put up seven new apartments with eight parking spots on an empty lot in Guadalupe. On Sept. 22, City Council members approved the affordable housing project at 855 Pioneer St., which was proposed by the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County. However, some concerned residents believe there isn’t enough […]
