• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) is spending a lot of time pushing back on the Trump administration’s policy pushes. Since President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January and began signing a flurry of executive orders, Carbajal’s office has put out several press releases about what the congressman is doing and saying about it, […]
Sun Staff
Posted inOpinion
Nipomo needed more info earlier for battery facility
San Luis Obispo County residents deserve consistent and transparent leadership. Yet, when it comes to the controversial Caballero battery storage project in Nipomo, the response from San Luis Obispo County 4th District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding tells a different story. If this project were next to Trilogy, an area where Paulding has historically focused much of […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Health & Wellness 2025
In our annual issue, we talk ketamine-assisted and rapid-eye movement therapies and float pods
For this year’s issue of Health and Wellness, our writers delve into a deep state of relaxation, which can help set the stage for healing from trauma, anxiety, and more. That relaxation, called the theta state, can be achieved in a psychotherapist’s office or in a specialized pool of water and Epsom salt. Staff Writer […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: February 6, 2025
• On Jan. 29, one day after President Donald Trump moved to freeze funding for a range of federal programs, the president’s budget office rescinded the order, according to the Associated Press (AP). Trump’s move had prompted “widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country,” AP News reported. Locally, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) issued […]
Posted inOpinion
All people deserve dignity
In response to “Encampments return to Santa Maria Riverbed” (Jan. 30): I understand that Japan removes homeless people from the street, provides a livable detention area with basic needs. Basically, they are incarcerated. They are cleaned up (from addiction) and given an opportunity to improve their ability to thrive and return back into society. If […]
Posted inOpinion
A small group of us could change a lot of things
This is to thank Gary Freiberg for his opinion piece in the Sun reminding us of the power of the people (“The price is wrong,” Jan. 30). Yes! Let’s start with having fewer eggs (or none at all until prices come down). Buy some nuts at the farmers market. Walnuts are shaped like our brains, […]
Posted inOpinion
Safer wind farms for all
Whether you are for or against wind farms off our coast, or on land for that matter, we all want them safer for the planet. With the idea of minimizing bird mortality, I have a couple of suggestions. To minimize deaths during the day, the blades as well as their support structure could be painted […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: January 30, 2025
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) responded to the executive actions that President Donald Trump made on his first day in office by calling some of them illegal and unconstitutional. This includes orders to pause funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan […]
Posted inOpinion
Are we prepared?
As wildfires rage across Southern California, it’s impossible not to think about how vulnerable our own Santa Ynez Valley could be in a similar scenario. Fires are unpredictable, devastating, and increasingly common in drought-prone areas like ours. Add to that the overgrowth, high winds, and the growing number of high-density developments here, and it’s clear […]
Posted inOpinion
Our Pyrocene era
We live in the “Pyrocene” era … the age of fire. Supercharged Santa Ana winds, record high temperatures, and drought have fueled the current wildfire crisis. There is death in Los Angeles County, tens of thousands have been displaced, and countless homes are reduced to ashes. In the far north of our state, massive fires […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: January 23, 2025
• On Jan. 16, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) called out House Republicans for repeatedly suggesting their interest in obstructing delivery of federal disaster aid to Southern California. “What makes these families different from families we have helped after hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods? To suggest that we should hold hostage the aid we give American […]
Posted inNews
Political Watch: January 16, 2025
• The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians received a $1.4 million grant through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help with the planning and community engagement efforts for an 8.7-mile path that would connect the Santa Ynez Reservation with Buellton, Solvang, and other parts of the valley. “Our tribe is thankful for receiving this grant […]