The Canary

In a contest between squiggly lines or straight lines, will the straight lines win?  It’s definitely possible in Santa Maria, where the City Council and residents seem to favor a redistricting map that divides the city into the four quadrants that have always divided the city—along Main Street and Broadway.  Those two roads divide so […]

Being homeless isn’t a crime. But “many kinds of public conduct are illegal.”  Santa Maria Public Information Officer Mark van de Kamp told us that. And he’s not exactly wrong. But, if the public conduct associated with being homeless is illegal, aren’t we essentially saying that homelessness is a crime?  A recent Santa Maria Riverbed […]

In an apparent effort to protect Lompoc’s minors from any human traffickers who might want to open a dance hall, Lompoc City Councilmember Gilda Cordova went to bat for the city’s unenforced 50-year-old laws on dances, dance halls, and dance studios.  “These are basic regulations that protect the activity of minors in those locations,” she […]

Santa Barbara County and Santa Maria are fighting over the homeless and a Motel 6.  At least, that’s the simple version of the story.  The real story goes back many years but comes down to ideological differences and what Santa Maria believes is best for the city. Mayor Alice Patino, City Councilmember Etta Waterfield, and […]

Sheds. Homeowners can’t live with ’em and they can’t live without ’em. And in Solvang, regulators seem to be having a hard time with the unintended consequences of a shed regulation situation caused by shed-stirrer and Skytt Mesa resident Kristin Kellner  She complained about a neighbor’s shed not following city code guidelines, which eventually put […]

COVID-19’s such a little devil. As of Feb. 1, this thing ain’t over yet, according to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, which once again extended the indoor mask mandate for yet another month. Community transmission is still considered “high,” the department stated.  The county had 4,330 active cases with 108 in the hospital, […]

In a real shocker of a decision, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors sided with greenhouses in the political war over agriculturally zoned land in the Santa Ynez Valley.  Should it be for residential uses only or should agricultural activities still be allowed on agricultural land? Well, according to the Santa Ynez Valley Community […]

If the recent candidacy announcements for the Central Coast’s new Assembly districts are any indication of the areas that will feel unrepresented in the future, Santa Maria will be left out.  So far, in new Assembly District 37—which together with the 30th District is replacing the district that Republican Assemblymember Jordan “I’m Not Running Again” […]

Copenhagen Drive in Solvang is reopening to vehicle traffic on Feb. 2, according to the Santa Barbara-News Press.  According to the Sun’s reporting, it most certainly is not. In fact, the Solvang City Council is now considering potentially keeping the city’s main downtown drag closed to trucks, trailers, cars, and buses in perpetuity. Ooh. So […]

Well, kids, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but just in case you don’t pay attention to anything vaguely internet-related: COVID-19 is back!  The omicron variant is sweeping the country (Thanks, globalization! Thanks, anti-vaxxers!), including Santa Barbara County, and it’s more contagious than ever! Yahoo! So mask up, vax up, and keep […]

This year is over, man. And it almost feels like the only thing left to do is shake my little bird head.  My takeaway from 2021 is that everything would be much easier if we all just learned how to communicate with others and genuinely sought out reality rather than ideas that strengthen our existing […]

I almost felt bad for the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 14 when they had to decide on yet another appeal of an approved cannabis cultivation project.  Only this time, the decision before them felt like it had higher stakes. Former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado was on one side, and the Millers […]