Who’s ready for some Ocean Dunes State Vehicular Recreational Area dust talk? Oh come on, it’s thrilling. All this talk about micro-particulate matter, cancer, and dust mitigation is making me feel like I want to talk about the Oso Flaco Lake controversy again. On one side, we’ve got the Central Valley revved up and rearing […]
The Canary
Posted inOpinion
Spinning and spinning
The puppy-powered drama centering around the Animal Kingdom Pet Shop finally maneuvered its way in small claims court. Like a tension-filled episode of Judge Judy, Animal Kingdom owner Adam Tipton and his fiancee Michelle Crook faced off against disgruntled puppy purchaser Jen Toste over $10,000 in a Grover Beach courtroom presided over by Commissioner Leslie […]
Posted inOpinion
Balloon race
I was thinking about pecking at Lompoc for its budget issue again this week—you know, the same one that some current Lompoc City Council members failed to address during the last budget cycle—but I’m moving on to more important things. Lompoc’s got an even bigger problem to deal with. Balloons. Some kid (probably) lost their […]
Posted inOpinion
Lip reading in Lompoc
How do you pay for something you want but don’t have money to pay for without bringing in any additional revenue? That’s a tough one, but have I got an easy answer for you. If you’re like every other American in this now Great Again nation, you’ll just borrow more money against the value of […]
Posted inOpinion
Deep breaths
Santa Maria residents have been arguing about whether to house temporary guest farmworkers in town since at least 2015—and they still haven’t figured anything out. Last year, the city hosted a series of workshops to try to explain the federal H-2A program. Farmers and agricultural industry representatives have said that it’s a necessity. So, in […]
Posted inOpinion
Raids ‘R’ Us
Cannabis is so confusing. Not because I’m high or anything. I’m not, I swear. I just use a little bit of CBD ointment on my right wing sometimes because it gets sore—and I definitely don’t inhale. I was driving up to Grover Beach to buy my muscle relaxation potion from 805 Beach Breaks until almost […]
Posted inOpinion
Truck it in
Looks like the Santa Maria City Council doesn’t care about anything but money and oil. Yes, folks, this week I finally get to rail like a true liberal snowflake environmentalist!! So strap those adult britches on, North Santa Barbara County residents, and get ready. On March 19, the City Council symbolically voted to support ExxonMobil’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Chickens in, humans out
Well Lompoc, you finally did it. Chickens are officially allowed to be man’s best friend within city limits. It only took you three years to figure it out. Chickens have been hip since, like, at least 2015. Even Lompoc City Councilmember Victor Vega knows how hip they are: “This has been a pretty […]
Posted inOpinion
Trolling for oil
If you could invite one guest to the State of the Union address to make a political statement, who would it be? A DACA Dreamer? A Lompoc Federal Correctional Institution employee who was forced to work without pay? How about someone who served at the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Morro Bay? Let’s face it, […]
Posted inOpinion
Payday
I just got the first press release I’ve had from the Los Padres National Forest since before Christmas! Why does that matter? Well, I’m glad you asked. It means that—drum roll please—the United States of America is back, baby! The federal government is no longer partially shut down! For at least three weeks, possibly longer, […]
Posted inOpinion
Well, guys. You did it. You really did it.
Santa Maria had its first ever Women’s March on Jan. 22, joining the closest liberal hubs to the north and south—Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo—in marching for strength, unity, equality, and choice. Against oppression, misogyny, and the Great Trumpty Dumpty who doesn’t have his own wall to fall off of yet, but he’s working […]
Posted inOpinion
Who do you believe?
It’s hard for some to keep the facts straight in this “post-truth” age of “fake news” and hyper-partisan demagoguery. It certainly wasn’t easy for the demagogue-in-chief, President Donald Trump, who preceded a visit to areas of California hit hardest by the Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire with a tweet blaming the state’s wildfires on poor […]
