The Canary

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 […]

 I wonder how former Lompoc City Councilmember Gilda Aiello is taking the news about the guy who took her seat on the dais at the end of 2024. Remember what happened? She decided not to run for reelection due to “a few unfair attacks brought on me by a group of individuals who wanted to […]

While warm-blooded American patriots were enjoying their weekends like warm-blooded patriots, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was out doing the work of the people: arresting rapists, pedophiles, and murderers (and I assume, good people, too)—according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security press release you can find right on its website!  Direct-to-the-people news, direct from […]

The thin ice that Sable Offshore Corporation skates by on just keeps getting thinner.  Ramming this overly aggressive push to get oil flowing through its pipelines down California’s throat isn’t really helping the Texas-based company’s case. And a reliable Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors oil vote switched sides because of Sable’s seemingly never-ending chain […]

What brought us here? A tit-for-tat escalation of actions that we all agree are bad—and yet we’re doing it anyway.  It started in the Texas Legislature, which—after a show of resistance from state Democrats (who ran away so there wouldn’t be enough legislators to vote)—voted in August to redistrict its congressional districts mid-decade to add […]

Who knew an oil pipeline in little ol’ Santa Barbara County could be on the national political radar? The Trump administration is weighing in on Sable Offshore Corporation’s battle to get the Santa Ynez Unit, its affiliated offshore oil rigs, and a corroded pipeline up and running. On X—formerly known as Twitter—no less.  Actually, it’s […]

 A fairy-tale Danish “village” has Solvang’s policy preferences all twisted up. Nine cottage-style hotel units went a little off-script during the construction process, and Solvang put a stop to developer Ed St. George’s dreams. Apparently, he got a little too slap-happy with the half-timbers for the city’s liking. Too much wood!  St. George didn’t take […]

Maybe people can learn from their mistakes.  That’s the impression I’m getting from Santa Barbara County’s recent encampment cleanups in both the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez riverbeds. Both have had their fair share of repeated efforts to clear out the trash, tents, and makeshift living structures that accumulate in the riverbeds over time thanks […]