Taylor O'Connor

toconnor@santamariasun.com
Posted inSpecial Issues

It’s Pride Month

The Central Coast is celebrating the LGBTQ-plus community this June with events in SLO and Santa Barbara counties
by Taylor O'Connor and Adrian Vincent Rosas

As we roll into national Pride Month, celebrating the LGBTQ-plus community seems especially poignant following a year of anti-trans legislation across the country, attempts to ban gender identity and sexual orientation from sex education, and fights in local schools and cities over rainbow flags and crosswalks. In 2023, SLO and Santa Barbara counties are hosting Pride events all June long. For this year’s annual Pride issue, Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor has event details for you; and New Times Staff Writer Adrian Rosas from the Sun’s sister paper writes about trans visibility and what local organizations are doing to lift them up.

Posted inNews

Santa Maria makes headway on the decades-long Downtown Specific Plan, but residents are concerned about impacts on current neighborhoods and businesses

by Taylor O'Connor

After waiting for years for Santa Maria to develop its downtown, Ed Carcarey said he’s excited to finally see some investment and promise for more housing, restaurants, and businesses in the city.  “I’ve been involved with the downtown [area] since I’ve owned a business in the city for 25 years now, located on the northern […]

Posted inNews

Sheriff’s Office releases Melody Market shooting video, involved officer’s name

by Taylor O'Connor

Santa Maria Police Officer Antonio Peña was the off-duty officer involved in the March 25 shooting at Melody Market where 19-year-old Santa Maria resident José Manuel Reyes Rios died, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.  Along with Peña’s name, the Sheriff’s Office shared surveillance video from exterior cameras at Melody Market—a nearly nine-minute […]

Posted inNews

Pacific Pipeline appeals county Planning Commission’s denial of safety valve proposal

by Taylor O'Connor

A project to install safety valves on the pipeline that caused the 2015 Refugio oil spill will make its way to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors after Pacific Pipeline Company filed an appeal to a recent Planning Commission decision.  County planning staff initially approved the project in August 2022, giving previous pipeline owner […]

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Santa Barbara and SLO County school districts partner with local Medi-Cal insurance plan to increase behavioral wellness programs at school

by Taylor O'Connor

Seventeen percent of Guadalupe Union School District’s seventh and eighth graders reported that they considered suicide last year. “Students did self-reporting, they’re also reporting they are frequently sad most or all of the time,” said Angela Soares, the district’s director of expanded learning and wellness. “Just those numbers show our students are saying, ‘We need […]

Posted inNews

The price of politics

Community outrage drove Santa Ynez High School’s principal to resign
by Taylor O'Connor

Alyce Barrick was excited for her daughter to transfer to Santa Ynez Valley Union High School because of Principal Michael Niehoff.  As Santa Ynez Valley Pride’s vice president and the owner of a local coffee shop, Barrick works with a lot of the students either for employment purposes or as part of Santa Ynez Valley […]

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North County superintendents discuss enrollment rates’ impact on school districts

by Taylor O'Connor

School site development and expansion due to higher student enrollment rates and the investments being made in quality education and career preparation were highlighted during the Santa Barbara County Education Office’s State of Education on May 9.  Hosted by the Office of Education and the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce, the annual North County […]

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Social justice organizations invite community members to apply for six-month leadership development program

by Taylor O'Connor

To get more members from historically marginalized communities serving in public leadership, the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) launched a program to better equip Santa Barbara and Ventura county residents. “There can be so many personal and societal [influences] that prevent well intentioned people from serving in public leadership,” said Hazel […]

Posted inNews

The future of food

The federal government points to the Santa Barbara Channel as an area for potential fish farms
by Taylor O'Connor

Environmental advocacy groups, local fisheries, chefs, and law firms are working their way up the food chain to get President Joe Biden to revoke a Trump-era executive order allowing fish farms in federal waters—with eight potential sites identified in the Santa Barbara Channel.  “This is your backyard, and they are treating your backyard like a […]

Posted inNews

Solvang approves Pride banner proposal and adjusts banner policies

by Taylor O'Connor

What started as a simple proposal to hang Pride banners throughout June in Solvang turned into a months-long, widespread debate that received international attention and highlighted historic discrimination against the LGBTQ-plus community in the Danish-themed town.  “The banners are not what caused the division; people have created the division. Me being gay is not being […]

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