The Canary

So far, in the most competitive race Santa Barbara County’s 5th District has seen in more than a decade, things aren’t looking very competitive at all.  Santa Maria City Councilmember Maribel Aguilera has almost raised more than her two opponents combined. With what she says is $98,000 in the bank, she’s prepared to give dollars […]

It’s easy to pick apart Mayor Alice Patino’s rambling commentary at the Feb. 3 Santa Maria City Council meeting.  Her comments placed blame on protesters for the violence witnessed across the country and questioned whether demonstrators in Santa Maria would be peaceful. She stood up for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, excusing the actions of […]

Santa Maria is no longer the only game in North County for skater kids looking for a place to play. First, Nipomo stepped up and built a skate park—it only took a decade to make it happen.  That park opened in 2022. Now, Guadalupe’s four-wheel fiends will soon get a spot they can walk to—skate […]

The Santa Maria City Council finally decided to weigh in on immigration enforcement activities, symbolically.  At the Jan. 20 council meeting, Councilmember Maribel Aguilera got to business before Councilmember Gloria Soto could even turn her mic on, requesting that the mayor put a resolution or proclamation on the agenda to send a “clear message that […]

It’s not every day that the paper you tweet (as in chirp, chirp not type, type) for gets compared to the National Enquirer! I don’t know whether to be offended, confused, or proud. Guadalupe City Councilmember Eugene Costa Jr. apparently doesn’t really think too highly of the little paper that could: “To go off a […]

Sales tax ballot measure proposal season is here!  I know it’s not officially a season, but it should be. In the run-up to election season, local governments ponder all the things they could do with a little extra sales tax revenue.  In Lompoc, during this season of proposals it’s all about the roads. They need […]

In the stand-off to see who wins in the great pipeline battle of the 2020s, it seems like Sable Offshore Corporation’s closer to the finish line than environmental organizations want it to be.  In May 2025, the oil company began pumping oil from its offshore oil platforms to its onshore facility in Las Flores Canyon, […]

Northern Santa Barbara County is rounding out 2025 with an alleged maternal filicide case that’s captured national interest.  It’s a shocking case in which a 9-year-old girl from Vandenberg Village was murdered and left on the side of a remote road in Utah, where she stayed for weeks before being discovered. It’s sad on a […]

Anyone who thought that Guadalupe’s downtown was finally going to be home to construction activities on the Royal Theater revamp needs to wait just a little bit longer.  After breaking ground in early December, the project hit another snag.  The city needs Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District [APCD] approval to move forward with […]

It seems like the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is working to course correct when it comes to the number of outstanding arrest warrants—something 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino has been asking for. After he expressed concerns about the issue during a Northern Branch Jail expansion discussion in April—which will cost $165 million, by the […]

Are unpermitted food vendors actually a problem in Santa Barbara County or has the beef against one stall in Santa Ynez become the loud squeaky Karen that’s garnered all of 3rd District Supervisor Joan Hartmann’s attention? She’s made allegations about human trafficking tied to roadside vendors in the county. She’s made it sound like they’re […]

Guadalupe’s making progress, y’all!  It’s one step closer to hosting a local farmers market and to reinvigorating its downtown with the Royal Theater renovation.  Wow. It’s like hard work and patience—a lot of patience—pay off!  And that patience needs to continue to stretch, because the theater hasn’t quite raised all the money it needs to […]