A new study reveals that the surge of disastrous wildfires in California is almost entirely due to the changing climate. So as Independence From Meat Day (July 4) draws near, let’s help to tame the flames with planet-friendly vegan food. Animal agriculture is a leading driver of the climate catastrophe. It’s responsible for copious amounts […]
Sun Staff
Posted inNews
Political Watch: June 29, 2023
• State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and state Sen. Monique Límon (D-Santa Barbara) are calling on textbook publishers to diversify their instructional materials and work with the task force they co-chair, a special Task Force on Inclusive Education. “As our nation grapples with book bans and literary exclusions, it is critical we ensure […]
Posted inOpinion
Could this be ‘weather weirding’?
There is no doubt that the weather we have had this year has been weird, culminating in rare June rain. Can we attribute these record highs and lows, droughts and floods to a newly unstable climate? Might that be because a century of greenhouse gas emissions has trapped solar heat, magnified the shifts of the […]
Posted inOpinion
The Supreme Court needs ethics police
The recent news about Clarence Thomas’ financial entanglements with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow should be alarming to every American. This is what happens when the highest court in the land is given free rein to police itself. Clarence Thomas isn’t the first justice to engage in unethical behavior. And if Congress continues to ignore the […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: June 22, 2023
• U.S Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) are reintroducing the College for All Act—a legislation that would expand access to college for millions of working-class children. This legislation represents the most significant federal investment in higher education in the modern history of the United States, according to a statement from […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: June 15, 2023
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) introduced the Community College Agriculture Advancement Act: a bipartisan bill that would fund community college workforce training, education, and research programs in agriculture, according to a June 7 statement from Carbajal’s office. This legislation will be considered for inclusion in this year’s Farm Bill and amending the National […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Winning Images 2023
Feast your eyes on the people, places, animals, and more captured in this year’s photography contest
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then we’ve got 32,000 beautiful, captivating, intimate, and skillfully wrought “words” for you this week. For our annual Winning Images photography contest, intrepid photographers of all ages got behind their lenses to capture moments of drama, peace, and light in landscapes, animals, people, and everything in between. Give yourself plenty of time to feast your eyes on these incredible photographs.
Posted inOpinion
My memories of the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area
This month the court will decide if the California Coastal Commission has the right to ban driving on the Oceano beach and dunes. I raised my son in Oceano, and I have no memories of us on the Oceano beach because we never went there: I didn’t want to risk our lives dodging cars, trucks, […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: June 8, 2023
• Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced $16 million in grants to increase home ownership for farmworkers in California. The grants will support five programs statewide to build or purchase homes for lower-income farmworkers and advance programs that help farmworkers become or remain homeowners through mortgage assistance. “California isn’t California without our farmworkers—not only are they […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: June 1, 2023
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) co-led two bills aimed at strengthening U.S. supply chains, alleviating congestion, and improving efficiency in U.S. transportation corridors, according to a May 24 statement from the congressman’s office. The House Committee on Transportation advanced legislation that allows a variance of up to 10 percent weight between axles of […]
Posted inOpinion
What’s really behind the Richards Ranch annexation proposal?
I wonder if we have been asking the wrong questions regarding Richards Ranch LLC and its application to annex county key site 26 into the city of Santa Maria. The two questions we might consider: 1) Who are the members of the Richards Ranch LLC, and 2) What is their goal? Over a year ago, […]
Posted inOpinion
Thank you, Pioneer Valley FFA!
I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the Pioneer Valley Future Farmers of America (FFA) for their invaluable support during the opening reception of the Los Alamos Flea. The involvement of three exceptional high school students, Crystal Ortiz, Andrea Cuevas, and Abigail Velasquez, along with their teacher, Tyler Dickinson, made a remarkable impact […]
