The Canary

You know what the big bad U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency does when it wants local law enforcement to had over information about a criminal in custody? It sends a fax.  A fax! The inmates can hear that little fax coming in from down the hall. No notification needed.   But really, what […]

What’s better than a cop with little to no mental health training responding to someone in crisis? That same cop rolling up in a random, unmarked sedan!  During a June 15 meeting, the Santa Maria City Council approved mid-cycle budget amendments that will tack on an extra $2 million to the Police Department’s nearly $30 […]

Wake up, you sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed. Wake up, the confusing Blueprint For a Safer Economy is dead! The Blueprint is dead. Dead!  And California Gov. Gavin Newsom is singing it high, singing it low to let everyone know how well the state did to get the COVID-19 pandemic to […]

If a federal agency told you one of your policies was discriminatory, would you keep it? Well, if you’re Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino, the answer is, “Hell yes!” “For the feds to say we’re being discriminatory really, really bothers me,” she said. Yeah, it totally sucks when your city passes an ordinance that potentially […]

One Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge isn’t taking any of the Santa Barbara County Coalition for Responsible Cannabis’ guff.  Judge Thomas P. Anderle was the one giving the guff in a May 25 ruling on the coalition’s lawsuit against the Busy Bee’s Organics cannabis project, which the county approved in early 2020. Among the […]

Three iterations and nine months after California first introduced the ever-changing COVID-19 reopening tiers with the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the state is kicking it to the curb.  And just as Santa Barbara County reaches out for the most minimal tier on it, too. So close! This county is itching to inch into the […]

Don’t want to wear a mask anymore? I know just the spot where you can shop. Trader Joe’s! And because they trust their customers so much, you don’t even need to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination.  The Centers For Disease Control recently announced that you don’t need to wear a mask if you’re vaccinated. […]

Don’t worry everyone, the Santa Barbara County Coalition for Responsible Cannabis has got our backs! They’re taking care of business that the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has failed to adequately address time and again, according to Coalition President Blair Pence.  I mean, if the Board of Supervisors would just do exactly what the […]

What happens when a city passes a regulation without actually putting any thought into it?  You get Santa Maria’s recently minted rules surrounding mobile commercial car washers—built to comply with an apparent environmental ask from the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board without actually caring about how it would impact the industry it’s meant […]

What’s your function? Hooking up Lompoc with nonprofits and Santa Ynez Riverbed cleanup efforts.  Dysfunction junction, how’s it function? Lompoc has three favorite phrases that don’t get the job done.  Dysfunction junction, what’s their function. They want “liability insurance” because of the “potential for injuries,” and a need to “issue permits.” Those’ll get you pretty […]

Santa Barbara County’s Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission is supposed to lead to something better than the alternative: A fair process of redrawing the lines that outline Board of Supervisors’ districts to create a less politically driven, more representative elected board. It’s supposed to be less controversial.  And so far, it’s been anything but.  Almost as […]

Santa Barbara County is working its way through a series of performance reviews designed to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of county departments.  Efficient. Effective. They sound great on paper. But what do they actually mean?  Cost-savings? Trim departments so they can handle more services with fewer people?  Nope! According to county CEO Mona Miyasato, […]