The Canary

Guess what’s happening in Lompoc, again?  I know. You’re sick of hearing about that damn City Council and its bickering. But would you believe the 2019-21 budget debate that we thought was finally settled reared its stubborn little head again on Oct. 15? It’s the stupidity that just won’t quit. This time around, Mayor Jenelle […]

You know what the city of Lompoc is good at? Kicking the car down the road.  No, I don’t mean can. I mean car. As in motor vehicles that people park on the street and sleep in because they have nowhere else to go.  The city has grappled with the issue of giving those cars […]

When I hear the words “rent control,” I think about housing units. Apartments, studios, houses, mobile homes. What I don’t think about is the ground beneath them, but I guess I should.  Because in Santa Maria, members of the North Santa Barbara County Manufactured Homeowners Team (well, that’s a mouthful!) are dealing with a problem […]

Well guys, the local oil company everyone—even the righty-tighties—loves to hate tried to have its bankruptcy proceedings on the other side of the United States, but Santa Barbara County wasn’t having none of that!  When HVI Cat Canyon, better know ’round these parts as Greka Energy, filed for bankrupcty in a U.S. Bankruptcy  Court in […]

The city of Lompoc set the date! On Sept. 17, Lompoc City Council members voted unanimously (I know! I fell off my perch, too.) to hold a sales tax election (I know! I fell off my perch twice, too.) on March 3, 2020.  Who knew Santa Maria was such a trend setter? City residents voted […]

Who wants to talk about Community Choice Energy? I know, nobody’s hand went up. Because it’s freaking complicated. And who actually understands it, anyway?  But it’s here and it’s happening. PG&E is on the outs, while newly formed electric utility agencies such as Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) are in!  In fact, MBCP is so […]

Is it just me, or is it pretty ironic that after the weekend when Southern California Edison carried out one of its first public safety power shutoffs in Santa Barbara County, a fire broke out? OK. I’m convinced. It’s not just me!  Southern California Edison shut down the power to thousands of people in Gaviota […]

Lompoc is simply melting down over grease traps.  Apparently, the city stepped up its code enforcement of an ordinance that requires all food establishments to have a grease trap. Even the shops that don’t cook anything! And let me tell you, these food purveyors aren’t having it! Well, actually only four out of a few […]

I’m not sure what’s going on around here.  Maybe it’s the end of summer and the fact that the days are getting shorter, or maybe it’s the chemicals in the water, but the city of Santa Maria is making moves to join a community choice energy provider (gasp!) and the city of Lompoc is heading […]

My favorite high-pitched whine is making its way to the campaign trail. The squeaky wheel also known as Andy “I Know What’s Best” Caldwell announced his run for Congress on Aug. 12.  Oh goody! Now I don’t just have to tune into a Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting to hear his screeds. He’s […]

I’m not sure what they put in the water down in Solvang, but whatever it is, it’s spicy!  A battle brewing over how the biggest little Danish tourist city in Santa Barbara County spends its tourism dollars reached a fever pitch in July after the City Council voted to slice its funding to two organizations […]